A Motor City Machine Life: New Beginnings
by x.Cult Of Personality.x
Summary: After WM 28, the Motorcity Machine Guns have continued taking the WWE and the tag team division by storm. The Raw GM, on the other hand, is not pleased with this at all. With the help of his new stable, he plans to ruin them for good. Alex Shelley/AJ Lee/Chris Sabin/Mickie James.
1. Chapter 1

_**AN: I've been itching to make this after the last story, A Motor City Machine Life, so here ya go. Since this is the sequel, ya might have to read the first story in order to get this one. But I'm sure you already knew that. Hope this is to your liking! And I'm especially dedicating this one to the awesome 450AirBourne! Hope you enjoy it!**_

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A Motor City Machine Life - New Beginnings

**Chapter 1**

A few months later, after the end of all the previous events that occurred, the Executive Vice President of Talent Relations and now PERMANENT General Manager of Monday Night Raw, Mr. John Laurinitis, was released from prison for all of the crimes and misdemeanors that he and his cohorts had planned to make the Guns' lives a living hell ever since their debut. Not only him, but his lackeys Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger were released from jail only a few days after their incarceration, and joining the group once again was the bodyguard and muscles of the group, Dave Batista, and best friends, Beth Phoenix and Natalya, also known as the Divas of Destruction. Although at this point, they really weren't as close as they were before. Beth had seemed to go her own way on her quest for dominance, and Nattie was beginning to believe that she was becoming an afterthought. She let it go for now. Now after the group's huge loss at Wrestlemania 28, one would think that these people wouldn't dream of teaming up again. Well...thanks to Johnny Ace, they were reunited once again with only one thing on all of their minds - revenge.

Now, the group all gathered together in Johnny's office for a meeting.

"Ok, now I'm guessing that you all want to know why I called this meeting." the GM announced.

"Please, don't tell us that we have to pull together once again, because the last time that happened, we got HUMILIATED by those Guns and their little girlfriends at the last Wrestlemania!" Dolph snapped. "And after all this time, they're STILL carrying around those tag team belts. They should be OURS! It's not fair, WE are the Future-"

Jack calmed him down. "Remember, your doctor told you not to go into these fits of rage! You want your blood pressure to head into the danger zone again?"

The bleach blonde crossed his arms. "No."

"Well, that is exactly why I called this meeting. Those Motor City Machine Guns have absolutely no business holding those titles and taking them away from more deserving champs like you. We had a surefire plan to rid them for good, and they found a way to beat us. Well, not this time. Coffee, Otunga?" he called to his lackey standing beside him.

He shrugged, took another sip of his mocha-frappachino, and handed him another thermos of coffee.

"Thank you. Now that I am the permanent GM of both Raw and Smackdown, there are going to be some changes around here. Big changes." he continued.

"Changes to benefit us, I hope." spoke up Beth. "I was lucky enough-no, I don't need luck. I was _dominant_ enough to win back my Diva's championship from Punk's shiny new girlfriend Britani Knight, but Nattie and I STILL need those Diva tag team belts, too."

"That's right. Do you have a way that we can regain them back from those Barbies, Mickie James and AJ Lee?" asked Nattie.

Ace pondered for a moment. "I'll think of a way. But don't worry, I will still guarantee you both a title shot in the very near future."

"Yo, what about me?" Dave asked, raising his hand. "I've been working for you people for over a year, and what have I got to show for it?"

"A big, fat check, that's what." Dolph stated.

"Aside from that! You guys get all the gold, and what do I get? Nothing! Mr. L, I'm not begging you, I'm telling you. I want a title shot and I want it now." the muscular superstar announced, leaning over the desk and about 5 inches from Ace's face.

"Ok, ok, calm down, Davey. I agree, you do deserve a title shot. Question is - which one are you aiming for?"

He smirked and then saw CM Punk walking down the hall with his title proudly slung over his shoulder. "That's easy. I want to destroy Punk and take that WWE Championship from him."

"Yeah! Ok!" the others clapped for him.

"This would be good for us, Johnny." Dolph agreed. "Think about it. Jack and I being the tag champs, Beth and Nattie being the Divas' tag champs, Beth already holding the Diva's championship, and now imagine Dave topping it all off by carrying one of the top Championships in this entire company! We will literally be the most unstoppable force in the WWE today."

Ace pondered again before nodding. "I like what I hear. I'll see to it that this happens, but you all have to remember our ultimate goal. To make sure that the Machine Guns and their little girlfriends are never to be seen here again. Remember, they're our biggest threat."

They all nodded along.

"So when does the plan start, sir?" asked Nattie.

"Oh, right when-" he stopped. They all turned around to find Eve Torres lightly knocking on the door. "Can I come in?"

"Oh, Eve! Sure, sure, come on in!" he exclaimed. "So to what do I owe the honor of this visit?"

She ignored Dolph, Jack, and Dave eying her down like a piece of meat and Natalya glaring at her, before saying, "I just wanted to tell you how happy I am that you were able to become the GM for both shows. I have total confidence that you'll make some wonderful and beneficial changes around here."

Nattie rolled her eyes.

"Well, thank you, darling. I promise that I'll try and do my best around here."

The Latina looked around at the others, who were still staring at her, and continued, "And I have the utmost faith in you, sir. Y'see, I admire you. You've been through the hardships of being locked in prison for months at a time, and once you're released, you do the noble thing and choose to help us and this show by doing what you do best - Being Mr. Excitement!" she continued.

"Oh, please." Nattie muttered.

"Well, Eve, I can't thank you enough for your kind words." Ace replied.

"It's no problem. Well, better be on my way now." she said, heading off. "Oh, and one more thing - let's all give a big hooray for people power!"

Silence.

Johnny was the only one who clapped, before Dolph, Jack, Dave, and Beth slowly joined in.

"Damn, I need to get her in bed." Dave smirked.

"Eve, you can stop by here...anytime!" Ace smiled.

She smiled back and headed out.

"Y'know, I'm really liking her new attitude. She's acting less and less like a Barbie every day." Beth announced.

Natalya, on the other hand, just shrugged. "What's the big deal, she's nothing special."

* * *

Meanwhile, out in the ring, the Machine Guns were just finishing up another match. With them still being the champs ever since they won the belts at Wrestlemania 28, they were literally unstoppable and were having the time of their lives. Chris held Epico in a reverse standing headlock, and the crowd went wild while Alex stood over the top turnbuckle and signaled to the fans, before leaping off and landing right over Epico's body. He rolled out of the way, allowing Chris to get the cover. The ref counted, "1...2...3!"

The fans, as usual, went crazy for their favorites as they grabbed their title belts and stood on both turnbuckles, sharing their win with the crowd.

"Here are your winners, the WWE tag team champions, Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin, the Motor City Machine Guns!" announced Lillian Garcia.

"MCMG! MCMG! MCMG!" the fans chanted along. After slapping a few of their hands, they soon ended up backstage, when Alex said first, "Ah, another day, another victory. Isn't life swell, Sabin?"

He looked at his title and then saw their girlfriends approaching them. "Indeed it is, Shelley. And I think life just got even more swell. Hello, ladies." Chris announced, giving his girlfriend Mickie James a kiss.

"Hello, boys." the Country Diva smiled back. "Awesome work out there as usual!"

Alex's girlfriend, AJ Lee smiled along and kissed him. "I second that. You two never cease to amaze me." she agreed.

"Aw, stop babe." the Detroit native replied, wrapping his arms around the tiny Diva. "We aim to please, and with all of us carrying these championships around our waists, nobody can hold a candle to us!"

"That's absolutely right, my friend. So since we're all finished for tonight, how about us guys get showered up first and then we can all head out to the bar to hang out?" suggested Chris.

"Sounds good, we can have a Bud Light drinking contest, in which I'll win." Mickie announced, walking ahead.

"Nooo, the last time was a fluke! I technically won the last time!" he argued, running after her.

"You chucked and you know it." she called back.

"Aw, come on, do you have to use the word 'chucked'?" he whined. Alex rolled his eyes at this and AJ just laughed along. While they walked ahead, they caught the current WWE Champ CM Punk and his girlfriend, the new British Diva, Britani Knight, making out in the hall.

"Hey, keep it in a closet somewhere, all right?" announced Alex.

"Oh, who asked you?" Punk smirked. "We can make out wherever we damn well please."

"I'll say." the British Diva agreed. "Great work on your matches, Guns!"

"Thanks!" the four replied.

"And don't worry, Britani, I'm sure that you'll get your rematch against Beth for the Diva's title soon enough." AJ told her friend.

"I hope so. But with that bloody chap, Laurinitis back in power, I just have a bad feeling that I'll get screwed over."

"I can't even believe that he's out of jail and STILL managed to keep his job." replied Alex. "I just hope that he doesn't put us through the same nightmare that he put us through last time."

"Eh, I don't mean to be a downer, but that's pretty much a given. I mean, look what happened to me a few weeks ago. Ace made me defend my title against Mark Henry, right after that, ol Johnny comes out and says that there's some kind of 'Natural Disaster' headed my way, and lo and behold, Jericho comes out and clocks me in the back of the head with a goddamned bottle of Jack Daniels! I'm still feeling the effects of it, man."

Britani soothingly rubbed the back of his head. "Oh, my poor Punkers. If that Ace wasn't my boss, I'd give him a good arse kicking."

"Hey, I'd hold him down for ya, babe." he chuckled. "But I'll try my hardest not to let him interfere in your title rematch."

"Aw, always looking out for me. Another reason why I love you so much." the British Diva replied.

"I love ya just as much, babe." the WWE Champ agreed, wrapping her in another kiss.

"Ah, young love." Chris announced. "Well, I mean she's young, being 20 and all, but Punk you're like, 33-34 now, so I wouldn't count that as young-"

"Hey, do you want me to knock you upside the head with this belt?" Punk demanded.

"No." he said, quickly shaking his head.

"Ok, before Chris says anything else that'll land him in another coma, we're about to head out in a little bit. You guys want to come with?" asked Alex.

"Mm, thanks for the offer, but we actually have other business to attend to. Isn't that right, Punkers?" asked Britani, kissing that sweet spot on his neck.

He chuckled. "Oh, yes, we'll be very, very busy. We'll catch you guys later, though!"

"Ok, kids, you have fun!" Alex called back.

As they strolled down the hall, Eve walked past them, ignoring AJ and Mickie, but saying a quick, "Hello." to Alex and Chris. The thing was, she purposely brushed against Shelley's arm and sent a small wink his way. Luckily, AJ didn't see this, and Alex decided to just brush it off.

"Whatever, she's still the company's resident ho." Mickie announced, before the gang laughed in agreement.

Eve, meanwhile, heard Mickie's comment and sent a look towards the group. Uh oh. She wasn't going to be talked about behind her back without a fight.

"H-Hey, Eve, how's it going?" Zack Ryder announced, joining her.

She refused to acknowledge him and instead replied, "Get lost, I don't have time for you right now." before storming off.

* * *

A little later, the Guns headed to the nearest bar, where they chatted over some drinks. Now, Chris and Alex were in the middle of a chugging contest.

"GO, GO, GO, GO, GO, GO, GO, GO!" Mickie cheered for Chris, while AJ cheered for Alex.

The two were neck and neck, but soon enough, they both slammed down their bottles at the same time.

"I WIN!" announced Alex.

"The hell you did, I won!" Chris argued. "I placed my glass down a second before you did! Right, Mickie?"

"Hmm, pretty hard to tell, actually. Let's just leave it as a tie, then everyone wins!" she smiled.

"No! No ties, ok, we need to have a clear winner. I say we have a rematch. You on, Shelley?" asked Sabin.

"Look, you're just all pissed off because you got beat by Mickie the last time, you got beat by me today, and I'm sure that even AJ could beat you, too. So you fail." he replied. Then, his leg was kicked from underneath the table. "OW! What the hell was that for, bunghole?"

Chris smirked. "Y'know, sometimes you talk just a little too much." he answered.

"So what, you gotta resort to violence now?" Alex demanded.

AJ decided to calm him down by massaging his shoulders. "I-Ooh, baby...that's the spot." he calmed down.

"Good. I don't want to see my Shelleykins in such an angry state of mind while he's the champion." the tiny Diva smiled. "But even without that belt, you're still my champ."

"And that goes for you too, April." he agreed. "You always know the right thing to say or do to make me feel like I'm on cloud 9. Can you believe that we've been together for nearly a year already?"

She sighed happily and wrapped her arms around his neck, nuzzling into his shoulder. "Nope, and these few months came and went so fast, so it feels like we only met yesterday, but at the same time, it feels like we've known each other forever."

"Well, forever isn't nearly long enough for me to love you." he smiled, sitting her onto his lap.

"Oh, Alex..." she began, blushing. "I'm going to need way more than forever to love you. Maybe an eternity, I dunno."

"Yeah, we'll debate over it later, let's just kiss now instead."

"Okay!" she agreed, locking her lips with his.

"Ok, people, let's keep it PG, I'm sure there are kids around here and they don't need to be exposed to any of this smut!" Chris exclaimed.

Mickie laughed. "Why would there be kids at a bar?"

"I dunno. Maybe some 13 year olds made fake IDs and somehow managed to make it in here! I tried that once."

"And what?" she asked.

"And I was thrown in jail for 8 hours with some thugs that I swore I once saw on America's Most Wanted." he replied, shaking his head.

The Country Diva laughed. "My God, you were such a naughty kid! I wish I was around with you back then to steer you straight! Maybe then you wouldn't have had to see the inside of so many jail cells."

He laughed in reply. "That is true, Sweet Mickie. I honestly don't know where the hell I'd be without you to hold me down. Plus, I've never been more in love with anyone as amazing as you, beaufitul."

She smiled and ran her fingers through his hair. "Oh, Chrismeister, I'm so thankful everyday that I met you. You're just my rock, and I love you so much." she replied, before they were the next to share an immensely passionate kiss.

"Hey, keep it civil, kids might be watching!" Alex called, mocking him.

"Oh, shut up!" he snapped. "I'm busy."

Soon after that, though, Mickie felt her phone vibrating.

"Who's that?" asked Chris.

"I dunno, let me see. Oh, cool, I got a text from Velvet Sky! I wonder what she wants."

"Cool, tell her we said hi!" exclaimed AJ.

"Oh." Chris groaned. "What does that she-devil want? She calling to harass me again?"

As you can see, Chris and Velvet really aren't the best of friends. In fact, they can't stand one another. Long story short, they used to date when he was still in TNA, they later began accusing each other of cheating, and then came the long and painful breakup. Things have been pretty rocky ever since.

Mickie read over the text. "Oh, no."

"What's going on?" asked Alex.

"She says that she got a bad leg injury during a match in Impact, and that she'll be out of action for at least 8 months." she announced.

"Oh my God, poor Velvet!" AJ exclaimed. "Injuries are the worst."

"Yeah, no joke. How's she taking it?" asked Shelley.

"She says that she's really bummed about it, but she since she has free time now...she wants to travel around with us." she said, surprised.

Chris looked up and nearly knocked over his drink. "..._What?_" he demanded. "Why?"

"I don't know why, babe, she just says that she's thinking about spending some time with us during her recovery." Mickie replied.

"But come on! She knows how hectic our schedule is, and won't excessive travel only slow down her recovery?" Sabin demanded.

"Holy crud, dude, why are you freaking out so much? I mean, I know you can't stand Velvet, but I don't see anything wrong with her joining us for a little while. It'll give her a chance to be included into the group at least." announced Alex.

"But wait, won't she be in trouble for traveling with us since she's with TNA?" asked AJ.

"Nah, I doubt it." replied Alex. "What could go wrong?"

"I just don't think this is a good idea." Chris shook his head. "Her being here is only gonna spell trouble."

"Oh, Velvet just texted something else. 'If Chris is complaining about me coming with you guys, then tell him that I'll use my good leg to kick his ass.' End quote." Mickie read. "Ooh."

"SEE?" Chris demanded, downing a few more drinks. "I need to get seriously drunk right now."

His friends couldn't help but to laugh.

"You wussy." Alex chuckled.


	2. Chapter 2

**_AN: Just wanted to thank you guys for the last round of reviews!_  
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**Chapter 2**

Early the next morning, the Raw crew were on the flight to their next destination. AJ and Alex found seats together, while on the opposite row, Mickie and Chris did, too. Unfortunately, Ziggler and pals just happened to be a few seats away from them.

AJ lazily looked out of the window and admired the early morning sky. It was still dark out, but she could see a few hints of pink and violet in the distance and smiled a little. Alex turned to her. "Whatcha thinking about, gorgeous?" he asked.

"Nothing much. I just always find it fascinating how incredibly beautiful the sky looks at 4:30 in the morning." she said, turning back to look at her boyfriend. "What are you thinking about, handsome?"

"The fact that I'm fascinated by how incredibly beautiful _you_ look at 4:30 in the morning." Alex smiled back.

"Oh, Shells..." she smiled.

He wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug. "You know what I want to do one day?"

"What's that?"

"I want to take you to Japan one day. The two of us could have our own special getaway and listen to all the best J-Rock and J-Pop they have to offer. I want us to try all the different Japanese candies until we both get sick, and I want to buy you all of the plushies that you could ever want." he announced.

"Baby, that'd be a dream come true! OMG, will I even get to meet Pikachu?" the Diva asked excitedly.

He had to laugh. "Yes, you even get to meet Pikachu!"

"Yay, yay, yay!" she cheered, laughing along. "Oh, Alex, you rule."

"So do you." he replied before they wrapped themselves in another kiss. A few seats away, Beth, Natalya, and Eve all sat in a row together, with Eve sitting in between the two blondes.

"So, you just had to sit here, huh?" Nattie asked, eying her down. "Just so you know, Beth's with me, ok?"

She glared at her. "I don't care who you're with. So, you think Johnny will let me into your little group, cause I'd be more than happy to join in." she turned to Beth.

"We'll see. If you want in on our business and if you want to join us, you have to go through an initiation of some sort." the blonde explained.

The Latina nodded. "I see. What kind of initiation?"

"Depends. Come up with something creative. But the only way to get into our little group, is to somehow make the Guns and their girls' lives a living nightmare. See, the four of them are sitting right up there." she pointed ahead.

"Make their lives a living nightmare, huh?" Eve asked herself. Then, she stood up. "Excuse me, girls."

Once she was out of the way, Nattie asked Beth, "Beth, what are you doing? Why are you telling HER our personal business? She's not in our group, you should've just shut her out or something!"

"Oh, lighten up, Nattie. If she'll do her part and help us get rid of the Guns, then we should be welcome to any new ideas from her. Besides, the more people to join our group, the better!" she replied surely.

"Hmm. You better be right about this." the Canadian Diva muttered.

Soon after, Eve fluffed up her hair and then took the seat next to Alex's. "Is this seat taken?" she asked.

He turned to find her. "Uh no, but..."

"Oh, good." she cut him off, taking out a mirror and admiring herself. "Don't you just hate these early morning flights? You can just lose hours and hours of beauty sleep! How the hell am I supposed to keep this perfect complexion if I don't even get the daily 8 hours of sleep that I need?"

Not knowing what to do or say, Alex just shrugged.

"Say, how's my makeup?" she asked.

"Uh, don't you have a mirror right there?" Shelley asked back.

"But I need another opinion!" and to make things obvious, she pulled his face down to hers and continued, "How do I look?"

He quickly pulled away from her. "Look, hands off the merchandise, all right? I don't know what the hell you're trying to do, but I'm not interested. Now could you please keep it down because my girlfriend is trying to get some sleep." he said sternly.

"Hmph. Fine, then." the Latina scoffed. She was about to join Chris and Mickie, but before she could even take the empty seat at the end of the row, she was bumped out of the seat and fell down on her ass onto the floor. "OW!"

Sabin and Mickie didn't even notice that she was there, as the two were busy play fighting with one another.

"How rude." Eve muttered, going back to her seat with the blondes.

"You were saying?" Natalya asked her with a smirk.

"Oh, shut up." she muttered.

Meanwhile...

"Ow, ow, ow, OK! Uncle, uncle!" Chris cried out, tapping out on the seat while Mickie playfully held his arm all the way back. "Ow!"

"Sorry, Sabin, but now you know never to underestimate my strength." she smiled, patting his sore arm and giving him a kiss.

"God..." he uttered. "Yeah, I do. I'm sorry, Sweet Mickie."

"No need to apologize, handsome!"

"So, any word on when Velvet's coming to join us?" he asked.

"Well, she texted me late last night and said that first she has to go to the hospital and get her leg checked out again, but afterwards she'd be free to join us. So I'd say...later today."

He sighed. "Damn it."

"Chris, come on. I know that she's your ex, but why the hell are you so bummed about this? You guys have no problem insulting each other, so that shouldn't be the issue, is it?"

"No, but...you know what, forget it. I have you here with me, so if I ever get out of control, I can count on you to settle things down before somebody ends up with a fork stuck into their neck. Most likely mine." the Detroit native replied.

She laughed. "Done deal. I'll make sure that nothing happens to my Chrismeister."

"You see, this is why I adore you." he smiled, wrapping her in another kiss.

"Aww, isn't this such a pretty picture." a voice told them from behind.

They whipped around to find Dave Batista hovering over them.

"Oh, no." Mickie muttered.

"Just what the hell do you want?" demanded Chris. "Aren't you supposed to be rotting in jail somewhere?"

"Eh, I was in jail for a day, got bailed out, and here I am. So, how's life treating you both?"

"None of your damn business." Sabin replied. "Now, would you mind leaving us the hell alone?"

"Criminy, what's got you all uptight? Upset because you found out that Mickie's been sleeping with another guy?" he asked.

"Shut up." Mickie muttered.

"Oh, has she been sleeping with your best friend Alex over there, is that it?" he continued, trying to start a scene.

This was too much for Chris to hear. "If you don't shut the hell up right now, I swear that I'll rip that tongue out of your mouth!" he snapped, lunging out of his seat.

"Chris, Chris, stop!" Mickie held him back. "Dave, nobody cares about what you have to say because you're just a class-A bum, and a class-A liar. Now say whatever the hell you want to say about me, because you're not going to get any reaction out of us. We're just going to ignore you."

All the Animal could do was chuckle while he leaned back.

"That son of a bitch." Chris muttered, sighing.

"Forget about him, baby, he's just trying to piss us off." she told her boyfriend.

"I'm just so tired of him talking trash about you. I swear, one of these days, I'm going to do something to him that I might regret."

"Chris..."

"I'm serious, Mickie. I'm tired of his bullshit. If he does one more thing or says anything else to hurt you, Alex, or AJ, I'm seriously going to screw him up." he announced, tightly gripping the edge of the chair.

* * *

Later that evening, the Raw crew had just finished up another house show, and AJ and Alex were in the Guns' hotel room, waiting on Mickie and Chris to return from the airport with Velvet. The happy couple were both lying upside down on the bed, mindlessly playing their Gameboy DS's.

"April?" he asked.

"Hmm?"

"How come you always seem to beat me in every game we play together?"

"Oh come on, I don't beat you all the time!" the Diva replied.

"You do SO!" he cried back.

"Well, maybe you just need to bring your A game more often and maybe you'll pose as a bigger threat!" AJ smiled.

"But I bring my A game all the time and I still end up losing to you." he pouted.

"Well...maybe you're just letting me win after all." she turned to him. "Think about that possibility."

He playfully nudged her. "Shut uuuup..." he whined.

She laughed and nudged him back. "No, you shut up!" she exclaimed. "So, you still think that Chris is in a bad mood now that he and Mickie have to pick up Velvet?"

"Hmm, who knows? I just think he's seriously overreacting about the whole thing. Velvet's our friend, she's never been a problem for me as long as I've known her." replied Shelley.

"Yeah, and she's been really cool to me, too. But, none of them are here right now and we've got the whole room to ourselves..."AJ announced, tracing a finger down her boyfriend's chest.

He smiled devilishly. "We sure do. You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Oh yeah." she smiled back.

Right after that, he dropped his game and wrapped his arms around her small frame, rolling them both over so that he was on top of her. Once he moved on to kiss the crook of her neck, she smiled and giggled while she was about to remove his shirt, but before they could do anything else, they heard voices from the other side of the door.

_"Oh, leave me alone, Creature!_" Chris snapped.

_"Why do you have to have such an attitude, THING?"_ Velvet asked back.

_"Oh, will you two just calm the hell down already? We're here!"_ Mickie snapped.

AJ and Alex froze.

"Party's over." he concluded, sighing and lifting her up to a sitting position.

Once they entered the room, Mickie exhaustedly announced, "We're back."

Chris was still arguing with the blonde, but Velvet shoved him aside and smiled. "April, Alex, I'm so glad to see you guys again!"

"Hey, Vel, nice to see ya again." Alex said, giving her a hug.

"Velvet, hey!" AJ smiled, wrapping her in a hug. "Long time, no see!"

"I know, right?" she lit up.

"Here, let us take your bags. How's your leg feeling?" asked Alex.

"Ah, it's a killer if I don't take my meds. But aside from that and the limited mobility, I'm just peachy." she replied sarcastically.

"Well, you could've just avoided all of this unneeded stress by staying at your own house, but NO, you just had to tag along with us." Chris announced, crossing his arms.

"Is there anything wrong with visiting my friends, Chris? People who I haven't seen in months? Is that so wrong?" she demanded.

"No, but-"

"Good, then stop complaining about me being here and just shut up, ok?" she demanded.

"Whoo..."Alex whispered, surprised. "Burn."

Meanwhile, Chris looked insulted, glared at her, and muttered, "She-Devil."

The blonde paused. "What? Excuse me, Chris, WHAT was that?" she demanded.

"You are a she-devil. Don't like it? Tough!" he argued.

Mickie tried to keep the peace. "Guys, come on, you've argued enough on the car trip here, can we just give it a rest?"

"You see, Chris, this is exactly why we never worked out in the first place!" Velvet continued.

"No, it isn't! YOU accused me of cheating on you, when I clearly didn't!" Sabin replied.

"Well, you accused me of cheating on YOU, when I didn't, either!" she cried.

"I only accused you back because you accused me!" he snapped back. "See, we can't even be friends anymore because every time I TRY and attempt to make peace with you, you-you bite my head off!"

"Chris, you won't LET me try and make peace with you! You never even tried to hear me out!" the blonde retorted. "How the hell am I supposed to be friends with you if you're always being so mean to me?"

"Mean to you? I'm the nice one, you're the one being mean to me!" he argued.

"You know what? I don't have to take this." she said, grabbing her suitcase.

"Velvet, where are you going?" asked AJ.

"I'm sorry, guys, but I don't think I can stay where I'm not wanted. April, Mickie, Alex, I'll see you guys in the morning, ok?" she replied, heading out and slamming the door after her.

"That went well." announced Alex.

Two seconds later, Velvet returned. "I have no place else to go." she announced.

"Ok, ok, let's do this. Velvet, since your leg is all screwed up, you get one bed. Alex, AJ, you're fine, so you can share the other one." Mickie instructed.

"But what about us, babe?" asked Chris. "I mean, either one of us shares the bed with Velvet, or one of us sleeps on the floor."

"Hmm..." pondered Mickie.

"I got an idea. Let's draw straws for it! Person who picks the shortest straw has to sleep on the floor." announced Alex.

Velvet, Chris, and Mickie all took their straws, where Chris realized that he had the shortest one. "Hoo rah." he muttered. "Well, where's the sleeping bag?"

"Wait, wait, I can't just let you sleep on the floor alone. Velvet, you take the bed for yourself, Chris, you and I can share the sleeping bag, ok? Everyone happy now?" Mickie asked, taking his arm.

"Yep!" smiled AJ.

"Me very happy." agreed Alex.

"Woo hoo!" Velvet cheered, inching herself onto the large bed. "A bed fit for a princess."

Chris snarled. "Well at least if I have to sleep on the carpet, I get to be with you, Sweet Mickie. I'm a happy boy." he smiled at the Country Diva.

"Good!"

"Don't get rug burns down there, Chris." Velvet smirked.

He shot her a look. "Oh, go and remove those fake nails of yours, why dontcha." he mumbled.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

The next Monday, the gang headed to the newest arena for the latest edition of Raw. Velvet was still getting on Chris's nerves, but luckily with the help of his friends, he managed to keep a clear mind throughout the night.

The blonde used her crutches to move around the halls, with Mickie helping her out by carrying her bag. "Mickie, please explain to me why all the guys are staring at me like I'm some kind of T-Bone steak and all the other girls are shooting death glares at me."

She chuckled. "Well, either because you're from TNA - enemy territory - visiting here, or because the guys are crushing on you and the other Divas are just jealous."

"Well jeez, it's like they've never seen a blonde on crutches before. So uh, I'm sorry that my battle with Chris is taking a toll on you. I never wanted you to get in the middle of this."

She stopped her. "Really, it's ok, Vel. But look, all I ask is that you lighten up a little on him. I understand that he's your ex, but he's my boyfriend now and I would just appreciate it if you'd be nicer to him. Ok?" the Country Diva asked.

"Mickie, I am trying to be nicer, but Chris won't give me a chance! Can't you talk to him and tell him to lay off just a little bit?"

"That's fair, I'll talk to him, too. But remember what I said, ok? I just don't like being caught in the middle between you two."

"I'll try. Sorry, Micks, are we still cool?" asked the blonde.

"Of course we are, come here." she smiled, giving her a hug. "Now I have to get ready for my match with AJ, and you can help us color coordinate our ring gear, kay?"

"Yay, I love color coordinating!" she laughed, following her.

Meanwhile, in the Guns locker room...

"So, Sabin, is Velvet still taking a toll on your nerves or have you gotten used to her by now?" Alex asked, lacing up his boots.

"I dunno, dude. See, once we first started dating, things between us were totally cool, we never had a verbal war, none of it. But once she started her accusations, everything just went downhill from there." he explained. "I just hate that Mickie has to be thrown into the middle of this. She didn't do anything."

"Well, Vel's here to stay for a while, so you're gonna have to get used to her being around here." he replied.

"God help me." he chuckled.

Before anyone could say anything else, Punk joined the two in their room, slamming the door after him. "That Jericho...has gotten on my last damn nerve." he announced.

"Oh yeah, we saw what happened out there with the whole liquor incident. Why's he being such a douche to you lately?" asked Alex.

"Yeah, targeting your family's one thing, but come on, pouring liquor all over you, that's just over the line." agreed Chris.

"Well, my friends, it's all simple. Jericho's too much of a coward to admit to me face to face that he's NOT the best in the world, and that I'm better than him. Plus, he's just ashamed that he tapped out to me at Wrestlemania and that I kept my title." the tattooed Superstar replied.

The Guns laughed. "Well don't worry, dude, if you ever need backup, we're your men." Alex announced.

"Yeah, we have your back, man." agreed Chris.

"Thanks, guys. I think I'll need a couple of right hand men." Punk chuckled. "So, what's new with you guys?"

"His ex girlfriend is visiting and he's been a miserable lump ever since." Alex gestured towards Chris.

"Oh, thanks, man." he said sarcastically.

"Wait, the hot blonde with the crutches is your ex girlfriend?" asked Punk.

"Yep. Velvet Sky. Heard of her?"

"Yeah, I've seen her before. What's she doing in this neck of the woods?" asked the Champ. "I mean, isn't she supposed to be recovering or something?"

"Just what I was wondering. She said that she wanted to spend some time with us and that's it." replied Sabin.

"Hmm...y'know, if Velvet's supposedly your ex, then did you ever think of the possibility that Velvet came back for you, Chris?" asked Punk.

Shocked at this, Alex looked wide eyed towards Sabin, while he looked equally shocked and looked wide eyed towards Shelley.

"N-No! No, that's ridiculous! We're like, the worst of enemies, she doesn't have any feelings left for me like I don't have any left for her. Right? Alex, back me up here!" he cried, freaking out a little.

"Uh, uh, yeah! You are madly in love with Mickie, and she is ALL the woman you need." he agreed.

"But Mickie's been spending an awful lot of time with Velvet. See the controversy that can come from your current girlfriend and your ex girlfriend hanging out so much?" Punk asked, unknowingly making the situation worse.

"Knock it off!" Chris whined, turning away.

Then, a knock on the door silenced them all. "The girls are finished changing already? That was..." Alex began, opening the door to find Eve standing there. "Eve? What do you want?"

"Alex, can we talk?" she asked, before looking around the room. "Alone?"

"Anything you have to say, you can say it in front of my friends." he replied, serious.

"Ok, fine. Look, I've just admired you so much ever since you guys debuted here and...and...Alex, I have a crush on you, there, I said it!" she announced quickly.

Punk nearly spat out his drink, Chris still looked wide eyed, and Alex paled a little before uttering, "You...DO know that I have a girlfriend, right?"

"I don't care, Alex. Come on, you can do so much better than that little geek! You need a real woman like me!" she tried to force herself onto him.

"Hey, HEY!" Alex tried to pull himself away. "Get your hands off of me! Now like I said, I have a girlfriend, who I love very, very much, and I won't stand here and hear you bad mouth her!"

"Come on, Alex, why don't you meet me in my hotel room and we can..." she seriously tried to kiss him.

"NO! Get your dirty, whoring hands off of me!" he argued. Chris looked at Punk and he nodded, before the two got up, each grabbed Eve by the arm...

"I-HEY! Hey, put me down! What are you doing?" she demanded as the two nonchalantly carried her out of the room, resulting in her kicking and screaming down the hall. "_STOP! Let me GOOO!"_

Alex cringed at what could've happened if his friends weren't there, and took out a bottle of hand sanitizer, scrubbing all of Eve off of him. "Don't know where the hell her hands have been..."

Right after that, AJ entered the room, but not without looking down the hall where the guys were still carrying Eve. "Uh, hey, babe, what's going on?" she asked.

"Eve just tried to throw herself all over me. Thank God Chris and Punk were there before she tried to get in my pants." he announced.

Pissed, the tiny Diva said nothing, immediately turned around, and was about to go after Eve. "HEY! Stay away from Alex, he's MY man!" she shouted.

"Baby, baby, baby, baby!" Shelley said quickly, wrapping his arms around her waist and holding her back. "It's ok, she didn't do anything. Just let it go."

She snarled. "That bitch."

"She's gone now, April, there's no need to worry."

Then, she whipped around and wrapped him in an intense kiss.

"Whew! What was that for?" he asked, smiling.

"Had to make you forget all about that tramp and remind you who you REALLY love." she smiled.

"Well, why would I forget that I love you? I don't need a kiss to remind me. Although, I'm always open to them." the Detroit native smiled.

She giggled and kissed him again.

Meanwhile...

"Let...me...GO!" Eve snapped once more to Chris and Punk, as they left her near the exit door. "God, is that ANY way to treat a woman?"

"What kind of woman goes after another woman's guy?" Punk asked.

"I know the answer to that. A cheap whore." Sabin replied with a smirk.

"How dare you? I am Eve Marie Torres, and guys FALL at my feet. Alex will be no different, you'll see. And neither of you will stop me from getting to him, either."

"Oh, really? There's two of us and one of you. Plus I'm sure once AJ finds out about this, she'll be ready to tear your head off." explained Chris.

She scoffed and turned away, but not without saying, "We'll just see about that."

"Oh my, was that supposed to be a threat?" Punk asked in mock surprise.

"Oh, the poor girl's so, so confused." Chris smirked, shaking his head. "C'mon, Alex and I have to get ready for our match soon."

In the meantime, a pissed off Eve stormed towards Laurinitis's office, where Dolph and his gang were.

"Hey, Eve, what's got you all pissed off?" asked Dolph.

"Those Guns. I'm trying to get to one of them and his little friends are just getting in the way." she huffed.

"Ooh, is this your way of trying to split them up?" Natalya asked sarcastically. "Nice try, we all tried that once and we failed. What makes you think that you can do what we couldn't?"

She glared at the blonde. "Because I'm Eve Torres, and I have contacts. I need to have a word with Johnny."

"No can do, he's really busy with something right now, you're just gonna have to wait like the rest of us." replied Jack.

"Damn it."

"Well, while we're all here, Eve, we have something that we wanted to discuss with you. And we hope that you'll accept our offer." announced Beth.

"What offer?"

"Y'see, we like your new style, and we figured that someone like you, a woman who's beautiful, charming, and uses those charms to get what she wants, could be a great addition to our little team here." explained Dolph.

"What?" Natalya exclaimed, shocked.

"Just look at it this way! We have Jack and myself, who are the tag team of the group, we have Dave, who's the muscles of the group-" he continued.

"And future WWE Champion." he cut in.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. And we have Nattie and Beth, who are the Diva's tag champs of the group. Now just who are we missing here?" he asked the Latina.

She paused. "The eye candy. The manipulator. The future Diva's champion." she announced, a smile growing on her face. Beth shot her a look, since SHE was the current Diva's champ.

"Exactly. You can help us split up the Guns in any way you want, and in return, we'll talk to Johnny for you and try and get you a shot at the Diva's championship." the bleach blonde continued.

"Wait, wait, but I'M the Diva's champ. You sure it'd be wise to fight a member of your own group?" asked Beth.

"Hey, no worries. The title still belongs within the group either way, so it's no harm, no foul." replied Dolph.

"Besides, it's only fair that Eve holds the Diva's belt since, y'know, you two are meant to be the tag champs." added Jack.

"Oh, shut up, Lisp." she grumbled.

"Well!"

"So anyway, Eve, how about it? You in?" asked Dolph.

The Latina had a satisfied smirk on her face before shaking his hand and replying, "Done deal. And my first order of business - grab Alex Shelley for myself."


	4. Chapter 4

** Chapter 4**

The next day...

"Criminy, Vel, how much do you carry around with you on a daily basis?" Chris demanded, struggling to carry her bags while they entered the gang's hotel room.

"Enough to keep a girl happy." she replied. "You can leave them there."

"Gah!" he cried, dropping them and flopping on the bed in exhaustion.

She giggled. "You are such a wuss, dude."

"Look, I offered to carry your bags, thank me for it."

"Well, aren't you at least going to be a gentleman and help me onto the other bed?" she asked.

He peeked up and groaned again, getting up. "Fine, Creature." he muttered, gently easing her onto the bed. "Easy does it...there ya go. Comfy?"

"Yeah...Uh Chris?"

"Yeah?"

"Your hand's on my thigh."

"Oh!" he cried, quickly removing his hand. "Sorry."

"It's ok. Normally, I'd kick your ass for it, but I'm crippled, so I'll let you off with a warning." the blonde replied.

"Oh, lucky me." he chuckled, lying down on the other bed again. Soon after, there was a comfortable silence between them, before Velvet spoke up again, "Chris, we need to talk."

"I agree, Vel."

"Um, yesterday night, Mickie mentioned how I should be nicer to you and y'know, lay off on the insults. And I realized, that she's right."

"Well, it turns out that Mickie told me the same thing, and she IS right. Vel, what the hell happened to us?" he asked, turning to her.

"I was asking myself that very same question last night. We used to have something great, Chris, and I was the one who ruined it because I was so insecure. You really are a good guy and I should've known that you weren't the cheating type."

"That's right, I'm not. What you did to me, Vel, really hurt. Before I met Mickie, I fell hard for you, I thought that what we had would last a real long time, but you doubted me and that's what changed things between us for good. See, at least Mickie never had the nerve to accuse me of cheating."

"What about that time way back when with the note that AJ found in her locker that was written by you?" she asked.

He sighed. "Velvet, I told you, that whole entire thing was a set up! I never wrote AJ anything, Ziggler and his goons did all that just to break us all up. But the bottom line is, Mickie never accused me of sleeping around, and I love her for trusting me." he continued, serious. "I'll never break her heart, like I never would've broken yours. In fact, you were the one who ended up breaking my heart when you were the one who ended things between us."

"Stop it, Chris! Stop making me feel even guiltier than I already do! I know what I did was wrong and-and I'm sorry! I know I never said it before, but I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you in any way, Chris. I swear." she pleaded truthfully. "So...you think you could ever forgive me?"

He glanced at her and shrugged. "Maybe I could." he said after a pause. "But there are going to be some ground rules."

"Ok, name em."

"We respect Mickie's wishes and stop lashing out at one another."

"Sure."

"Two, maybe we can finally become friends again."

"I'd really like that." she smiled and nodded.

"And three, you allow my first gesture of friendship to be me helping you in any way I can while your leg's messed up. Deal?" he asked, sticking out his hand.

She took his hand and shook it. "Deal." she agreed. "You know what, we can do a lot better than that. Hug?" she asked.

"Ah, all right, all right. But that's the most you're getting out of me." Sabin replied, getting up and wrapping his arms around her in a hug. The blonde couldn't help but to smile at this and wrapped her arms around him in return...right when Mickie walked in.

The two immediately broke away. "Mickie, hey!" Chris exclaimed.

"Hey, you two! Did my eyes deceive me, or were you two just...hugging?" the Country Diva asked, shocked. "Maybe I'm in the wrong room."

Velvet laughed. "No, Mickie, you're in the right place, and yes, we were hugging."

"We decided to take your advice and stop fighting and after a little chat, Velvet and I are friends once again. Somewhat." he agreed.

"Oh, you guys are the best! Now I won't have to be caught in the middle of one of your screaming matches anymore, yay!" the perky Diva cheered, wrapping her arms around the both of them in a group hug. "Y'see, now things are only going to get better from here on."

Velvet's eyes wandered around to look at Chris again, a small smile creeping onto her face, while Chris glanced back at her, flashing her a small smile in return.

* * *

Fast forwarding to Sunday afternoon, AJ, Mickie, and Velvet all had a little girls' day out at a local cafe, but little did they know, Eve, Nattie, and Beth just happened to be lurking around, too...

"So I still can't believe that you and Chris are friends now, Velvet. I have to get used to not hearing the names 'Thing' and 'Creature' being yelled back and forth." AJ said with a little chuckle.

She laughed. "Well, thank Mickie for that. If it weren't for her, Chris and I would still be hating one another."

"I'm such a good matchmaker, aren't I?" Mickie smiled along. "So AJ, what's new with you and your boy toy Alex?"

"Just still beating him at every video game imaginable and thinking about Japan." the tiny Diva smiled.

"Japan? What does that have to do with anything?" asked Velvet.

"A while back, Alex mentioned how he wanted to take me to Japan one day so that we could explore and have one hell of a time out there. And ever since I heard about all we could do there, I just couldn't stop thinking about it. It would be the perfect getaway for Alex and I to go on and we'd be super happy together all the way on the other side of the world."

"Hey, a trip like that sounds perfect for the two of you. Ever consider when you want to go there?" asked Mickie.

"I dunno. It's hard to find time when we all have such a heavy work schedule, but I have to talk to Alex about it later on." the Diva replied. But when she turned around to look for a waitress, her eyes were locked on the Destructive Divas and the one woman sitting in between them - Eve. "Oh, you've GOT to be kidding me."

"What?" asked Velvet.

"Look who else decided to show up." she gestured back.

"Oh, come on! Why is it that wherever we go, THEY just have to be here, too?" demanded Mickie.

"Oh, so they're the bitches you guys were telling me about." Velvet nodded.

"Yes. And Eve apparently has her sights set on my boyfriend, but she's not getting her damned hands onto him as long as I'm around." AJ replied, angrily stirring her drink.

"Ugh, nothing worse than a woman going after another chick's man." the blonde replied.

"Here here." Mickie agreed. "Just ignore em and they won't bother us. Hopefully."

Meanwhile, at the Bad Girls' table...

"Just look at her. Watching me." Eve scowled. "She probably thinks that I'm not gonna do anything to steal her man, but she is so wrong about that."

"Well just what exactly do you have in mind next?" asked Natalya. "You didn't exactly prove your worth into our group just yet."

"Oh, shut up, I'm thinking." she interrupted.

The Canadian Diva whispered to Beth, "Are you just gonna sit there and let her talk to me like that? I'm your best friend, your Sister! And all this time, you haven't even tried to come to my defense."

"Nattie, you know that I love you, but you just have to give Eve a chance to prove herself. Trust me, I think we'll all grow to become great friends." she nodded.

Nattie made a fake gagging noise in reply.

When a waitress was coming by with a few drinks, a lightbulb went off in Eve's head. "That's it!"

"What?" asked Beth.

"Watch and learn." First, while the waitress had her back turned with her tray in hand, Eve snatched a glass of wine off of it. Next, she looked to the table next to hers and found some sick dude coughing and hacking all the way, before taking a sip out of the glass. When he wasn't looking, Eve switched the contaminated glass with the clean one, and placed the contaminated glass onto the waitress's tray. The woman had no idea that anything was moved, so she went ahead to deliver the glasses to AJ, Velvet, and Mickie.

"Bada boom, bada bing." Eve smiled.

"Damn! That's sick, even I wouldn't have thought of that!" Beth exclaimed, surprised. "What's gonna happen now?"

"Oh, you'll see." the Latina smirked evilly, admiring herself in her pocket mirror. From there, she saw Natalya's angry reflection staring back at her. "Is there a problem?"

She wanted to say something, but didn't. "No. Forget it."

"Good, stay out of my breathing space, all right?" she retorted.

"Hmm." the Canadian growled, crossing her arms.

Back at the good girls' table...

"...But anyway, I'm definitely gonna talk to Alex later and see if that trip to Japan could happen sooner than later." AJ finished.

"Aw, I wish Chris and I could go to some foreign country. I've always wanted to visit London, personally, because I could have the shopping spree of a lifetime over there." Mickie smiled. "And then Chris could spoil me like a little princess. Ooh, I'm getting excited just thinking about it! Definitely going to talk to him about it later on."

While Mickie went on about Sabin, Velvet couldn't help but to feel a little jealous. But the thing was, she had no reason to be jealous. She and Chris were friends again, and only friends. Or so she thought. Her thoughts were interrupted when AJ raised her glass and exclaimed, "I propose a toast! To um...loyalty and friendship! Heh, that's all I could come up with." she giggled.

Velvet and Mickie laughed along and toasted their glasses with hers. The tiny Diva kept laughing and stirred her straw through her new drink, before taking a sip. She had no idea that she was drinking from the contaminated glass that Eve had switched, though. Uh oh.

* * *

Later that evening, in the Guns' hotel room...

"So Velvet hasn't jammed a fork in your neck in the past couple of days. This whole friendship thing between you guys is legit now, isn't it?" Alex asked, playing a game of Final Fantasy with Chris on their Playstation 3.

"Shockingly, yes. After that talk that we had, we finally realized that we're not as horrible to each other as we originally thought we were." he replied, his eyes glued on the TV.

"Bravo, you two have finally grown up." Shelley smiled.

"Thank you!"

"You're welcome. So I'm guessing that what Punk was saying the other night was a lie, huh?"

"What?"

"You remember. When he mentioned that the only reason that Velvet even decided to hang out with us was just to get closer to you again?" asked Alex.

"Oh, oh yeah." he said quietly.

Alex turned to him. "Chris, is there something wrong?"

"No! Nothing's wrong. So uh, what's new with you and AJ?"

"Well, I've been seriously thinking more and more about taking her on a trip to Japan with me over the summer. Ever since I mentioned it on the plane to her, she seemed so happy and excited and I realized that the two of us would have a blast visiting Tokyo, seeing the sights, that stuff." he explained.

"Oh wow, good for you guys! How the hell are you going to find time to plan a trip like that with the schedule that we have, though?" asked Sabin.

"Eh...good question. Gonna worry about that later."

"Oh, ok. Come to think of it, I need to take Mickie out on a trip, too. She did say once that she wanted to visit London, and me being the awesome boyfriend that I am, I plan to make that dream a reality for her!" he smiled.

"Great! Make sure to bring Velvet along, too." Alex smirked, trying to rile him up.

"Oh, shut up, dillweed, who asked you?" he demanded, throwing a pillow at him.

"Haha, that's the Chris I know and love!" he laughed back. Soon after that, AJ, Mickie, and Velvet returned.

"Hey, Guns, what's news?" Mickie announced, giving Chris a sweet kiss on the lips.

"Hey, my Hardcore Goddess, what's up?" he smiled, pausing the game and pulling her into another kiss.

Velvet, on the other hand, had to turn her head while they kissed because of that all-too-familiar pang of jealousy that she felt more than often.

"How was your girls' day out?" he asked.

"Things were fine at first, but then AJ started acting a little weird." Mickie replied.

Alex grew concerned. "What? Babe, are you ok?" he asked, approaching her.

About an hour or so after she and the girls had left the cafe, she suddenly started feeling fatigued, not a normal feeling for her. But she played it off. "Oh, I'm fine, don't worry about me. I'm just feeling a little tired, is all."

"Which is pretty strange, considering you were as bright as a button earlier." Velvet chimed in. "Maybe you better lie down or something."

"April, is your condition that bad?" Alex asked, gently putting his hands on her shoulders.

"No, really, baby." she held her forehead and stumbled a little. "I'm-I'm fine." she coughed.

"You don't sound fine." Chris replied.

"Seriously, April, just lie down, you're scaring me a little bit here." agreed Alex.

"I just have a little head cold, It's a normal thing for me...ow." she said, holding her head in pain. "Why is it so...hot in here..." she trailed off, before becoming too weak and didn't have the strength to stand up. Once she collapsed in Alex's arms, he quickly scooped her up while the friends crowded around her and cried, "APRIL! Babe, it's ok, I'm here. I'm here."

"We have to get her to a hospital or something." announced Mickie.

"I'll call an ambulance." Chris announced, rushing to the phone.

AJ looked up to see a blurry vision of Alex stroking her hair back and gazing at her. "Oh, Alex...what's happening to me?" she uttered.

He felt her forehead. "My God, you're burning up. Don't worry, princess, we're gonna get you some help. Don't worry." he whispered, kissing her forehead.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

The gang managed to get AJ to the hospital to get checked out, but fortunately her condition wasn't bad enough for her to have to stay there overnight. About an hour later, the tiny Diva found herself bundled under the covers of one of the beds, with a thermometer in her mouth. The four friends surrounded her. "Well, doc says that she just has the flu, so aside from some discomfort, she should be fine." announced Alex.

"I don't get it, though, she was perfectly fine just a few hours ago!" exclaimed Mickie. "And who catches the flu in a matter of hours?"

"It's all just so strange." replied Chris. "How you feeling now, AJ?"

She coughed. "Well, I have a killer headache, I'm so tired, and I just feel hot and cold all over. Wait, how about Raw tomorrow? I have to go, Mickie might need me in a match and I have to be there to support you guys."

"No, no, you aren't going anywhere until you are 100% better." Alex said sternly.

"But-"

"Girlie, it's ok, I can handle things by myself out there, it's no problem." the Country Diva smiled. "But don't worry about us. If anything we need to worry about you."

"That's right. Now the doc said for you to keep warm, drink plenty of fluids, and take your medicine, and you should be fine in no time, ok?" asked Chris.

She smiled. "Thanks, guys for everything. But I just wish that I could do something."

"Stay in bed, that's what you can do for us." Velvet replied. "Besides, if you stay here tomorrow during the show, I'll be more than happy to stay here with you and keep you some company."

"Aw, I'd really like that!" she exclaimed.

"Well, now that that's settled, the rest of you get out, I want to talk to my girlfriend alone." Alex demanded.

"Oh, so rude!" Mickie cried, pretending to be insulted. "See you tomorrow, AJ!"

Chris punched him on the arm. "Don't be such a jerk. Feel better, sis." he called to the woman he thought of as a sister.

"Sweet dreams, AJ!" called Velvet, heading out last.

"Bye guys!" she waved, before turning to Alex who took the chair beside her bed. "Hi."

He chuckled. "Hi. I'm just so sorry that this happened to you."

"Me, too." she shook her head.

"Do you have any idea how you could've gotten sick so fast? Were you near anyone out there who was sick?" he asked.

She pondered for a moment. "To be honest, I have no idea. All I remember was that after I finished my drink, about an hour or so later, I started feeling fatigued and it just got worse from there." she explained. "Alex, I just have to go to Raw with you tomorrow. What if Eve tries something and I'm not there to stop her?"

"Hey, nothing's gonna happen. If that skunk-bag decides to put a move on me, though, I still have Chris, Mickie, Punk, Britani, all of those guys to back me up. Although you'd be the best at kicking her ass." he smiled.

The tiny Diva laughed. "Truer words never spoken! Oh, I just hope I can get better soon, I hate being stuck in one place."

"I know, I know, but your recovery is the most important thing here. Now promise me that when I'm gone, you'll stay here." he said, pointing a stern finger at her.

She rolled her eyes and sighed. "Only for you, Shelleykins. I promise."

"Good." he smiled back. He leaned in to kiss her, but she stopped him.

"Babe, wait, as much as I'd love for you to kiss me, I don't know if you should. I don't want you to catch my flu next."

"Well, a kiss on the cheek shouldn't do any harm." the Detroit native replied, doing just that. "Now, you get some rest, and I'll see you tomorrow morning, ok?" he said, turning off the lamp.

"Ok. And Alex?"

"Hmm?" he turned back.

"I love you." she smiled sweetly.

He returned the smile, blew her a kiss, and replied, "I love you too, princess."

* * *

The Monday night afterwards, the gang was getting ready for their matches at the next Raw show, and in the Guns locker room, Alex really couldn't think about anything or anyone else but his sick girlfriend back at the hotel.

"Dude, I feel like I'm getting such bad vibes from Velvet." Chris announced, lacing up his boots. "And by bad, I mean, she's been acting sort of weird towards me. Weirder than usual."

No reply.

Chris turned back to his friend, who was blankly staring towards the wall. "Alex?"

He snapped to attention. "What? Oh, sorry, man, what were you saying?"

The Detroit native sighed. "Shells, I know you're still worried about AJ, hell, we all are, but she only has the flu and she'll be totally fine. Plus, Velvet's there with her, so she has someone to take care of her."

"But Velvet's crippled! How do you know she isn't lazing around on that King sized bed, watching Chick Flicks and eating her weight in ice cream?" he asked. "She needs to be up and active to make sure that April's temperature hasn't gotten too high, or if she needs her medicine, or-"

"SHELLEY!" Chris stopped him. "Dude, usually I'd say something like that about Velvet, but anyway, as long as she's there with AJ, I am sure that she'll be totally fine. But hey, I understand that you're worried. If Mickie were in the same position, I'd be freaking out, too. Now listen, man. We have a match tonight, and if you bail out on me, I'll be screwed. Just try and stick around for that, and then when our business here is done for tonight, you can go right back to the hotel and be with her, all right?"

He nodded. "Yeah, you're right. Guess I'm overreacting, aren't I?" he chuckled lightly.

"No, you're just being a good boyfriend to her and that's all right."

"Aw, don't get me all misty eyed, dillweed." he smirked. "But anyway, about you and Velvet, what do you mean that she's acting weird towards you? She try to get in your pants?"

Sabin shot him a look. "No! But...I'm afraid that she's heading down that road."

Shelley checked his hair in the mirror one last time before turning to his best friend. "Ok, dude, spill. What the hell's going on with you two?"

"Well, just promise to keep this between us. I don't want Mickie to know or else she'll freak out or something."

He held up three fingers. "Scout's honor."

"All right. It all started earlier this morning..." Chris began.

_Flashback..._

_Mickie was about to head out for an autograph session, but was stopped by Chris who wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into him for another kiss. "Oh, come on, babe, don't leave me. We were supposed to have a staring contest resulting in us having some wild and crazy sex under the sheets..." he told her, sending a trail of kisses down her neck._

_She smiled at his actions and moaned a little, before saying, "Oh, babe, I'd love that, but you know that I can't be late for this autograph session or else they'll have my head."_

_"I want your head. And every part of that gorgeous body of yours." the tag team specialist replied._

_She laughed. "Come on, Chris, stop! I have to go!" she gently pushed herself away from him. "Listen, as soon as I get back, I promise that we'll have our own little bedroom fun. Besides, my hand will be so cramped from signing all those autographs, so I'll need you to massage it for me."_

_He smiled and kissed both of her hands. "I'll be more than happy to. Try to have fun out there with all of your adoring fans, and just don't forget about me or the little people." he joked._

_She laughed and gave him a few sweet kisses. "I'll never forget about my loving and wonderful boyfriend. I love you."_

_"I love you, too." he kissed her back. The Country Diva flashed him one more smile before she exited the room, and Chris was left smiling in her direction. What he didn't see was Velvet using her crutches and creeping up behind him. "Well, someone's drooling. Why don't you shut that mouth of yours before I have to bring in a mop?" she asked._

_"Ha ha, you're a riot, Vel." he chuckled sarcastically. "So uh, what's up?"_

_"Well, AJ's still sleeping in the other room and I just felt that I needed to get her a few more blankets just in case. But I can't reach them since they're all the way on the top shelf of the closet. Could you please give me a hand?"_

_"Oh, sure thing. C'mon." he led the way. As they entered the bedroom, one of Velvet's crutches accidentally scraped against the back of Chris's leg, causing him to hiss out in pain. "Agh, watch where you're pointing those things, Vel!" he whispered, careful not to wake up AJ._

_She couldn't help but to giggle. "Oops, sorry! Ok, the blankets are up on the second shelf." she told him once they reached the closet. Then, she took out a step-stool and tried to climb up herself, making sure not to hurt her leg._

_"Wait, wait, I can get em for you. What are you doing?" he asked._

_"Oh, I wanted to get them myself."_

_"Then why did you need my help for?"_

_"I just need you to spot me to make sure that I don't slip, fall, and bust my ass down there." she exclaimed._

_"Vel, are you sure about this, because you're not supposed to be putting any stress on your leg and-"_

_"Chris, just shut up and spot me, ok?" she spat, reaching up for the blankets. _

_"Fine. Just be careful, ok? I'm right here." he said. While she was distracted, he couldn't help but to worry for her, so as an extra precaution, his hands grabbed onto her waist to keep her steady. The blonde didn't look back down towards him, hiding the smile that was on her face, due to him having his hands on her in such an intimate way. Meanwhile, the Detroit native's eyes just happened to wander up to look at her ass, admiring how round and full it was. Similar to Mickie's actually. The sight before him sort of brung back memories for him when he and Velvet were still together. But once he thought about Mickie, he shook the thought out of his head. "You got it, Vel?"_

_"Ah...yep. Coming down now." she carefully inched herself down. "Now, that wasn't so bad, was it?" she turned to smile at him._

_"No, uh, not at all. You didn't slip and fall, so I'm happy for ya." he chuckled nervously. Right after that, there was a silence between the two, and they slowly looked down to see that Chris's hands were still wrapped around her waist. "Oh, I am sorry." he said nervously._

_"No harm, no foul." the blonde smiled, winking towards him. Next, she gave him a kiss on the cheek and finished, "You're so helpful. You know, Mickie is SO lucky to have you. I really missed out on my chance."_

_Once she headed off, Chris was left feeling absolutely stunned and speechless. He turned to look at AJ, who was still sleeping, and silently thanked the Gods above that she hadn't witnessed what just happened. But was he starting to grow his old feelings for his ex once more? He's in love with Mickie, damn it, he can't have them both!_

_Back to today..._

"I think she's giving me mixed signals or something, man, because she KISSED me on the cheek. She never would've been THAT nice to me if Mickie were in the room! Alex, is what Punk said right? You think that Velvet came here to get me back?" asked Chris.

"Hmm. Tough call. It IS pretty strange to see her kissing up to you out of the blue, but how do you know that it wasn't just a friendship kiss?" asked Alex.

"Trust me, if you saw the look that she was giving me, you'd know that was deeper than friendship. But you know the scary part?"

"You showed her your birthmark?" Shelley asked back, wincing.

"NO! It was just...my hands just instinctively wandered around her waist and I almost couldn't let go. And her ass, Christ, I almost forgot how luscious it was." Sabin shook his head, sighing.

Alex was smirking at this. "What about Mickie's? Forgot about her already?"

"No, no! Her ass is the fullest, most luscious, most wonderful one I've ever seen." he smiled.

"When did our conversation even get to this point?" Alex continued, chuckling.

He chuckled along. "I dunno. And AJ just happened to be right in that room, too. Thank God she was sleeping and didn't see any of that."

"Aw come on, even if she did, I'm sure she'd keep the secret for ya."

"Oh I know, but Mickie's like, her best friend and it'd be too much of a risk for her to know. So that's what's currently going on in my life." Chris announced unhappily.

Alex sympathetically patted his back. "Look, the only advice I can give to you, my friend, is that you don't send any signals back to Velvet. If she needs your help again and you keep feeling her up, your mind's only gonna get screwed up."

He nodded. "True. Mickie's the only woman for me, anyway, so I shouldn't even have to worry. Now you ready to go man, cause our match is up next."

"Right behind ya." Alex said, but as soon as he opened their door, Eve just happened to be standing there.

"Oh, Alex! I WAS going to knock, but if you're just gonna let me in-" she began, but he blocked her so that she couldn't come inside.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I came to visit you, and I wanted to wish you guys good luck on your match." the Latina smiled. "I know you'll win."

Alex's only response was to turn back to Chris, whose reply was just a shrug. Shelley sighed. "Eve, are you some type of stalker or something? Why do you keep bothering me?"

"I don't bother you! I'm just a fan!" she cried.

"You do SO bother me! Why are you always where I am, and gawking over me like some-some leech?" he demanded.

Chris laughed. "You tell her, Alex."

"Alex, there's no need to be so mean. Look, I bet you're just grumpy that your little girlfriend isn't here tonight, am I right?" she asked.

"Why would you care? You never have anything nice to say about April."

"True, I don't. But still, just cheer up! I wish you all the luck in the world!" she exclaimed, planting a kiss on his cheek and strutting off before he even had a chance to say anything else.

"Ooook..." Sabin began, stepping beside a frozen Shelley. "You got a little lipstick..."

"I know." he cut him off, rapidly scrubbing the remnants of Eve off of his face.

"Stop doing that, you'll chafe your skin. Hold on, this'll help." Chris said, licking his thumb and using that to clean him off.

"Hey, I don't want your saliva on me, knock it off!" Alex argued as the two headed off for their match.

"Oh, don't be such a priss!" he called back. "Stay STILL!"

* * *

Back at the hotel, AJ felt and looked like a mess. She was still stuck in bed, with comic books and video games sprawled all over the bed, clutching two Pokemon plushies in her arms. Velvet lied down alongside her, resting her leg, while the girls were watching Raw.

"You need me to get you anything else, AJ?" asked the blonde.

"No, thanks. You've been more than wonderful for me today, thank you." she smiled.

She smiled back. "No prob, I'm glad that we get to spend some more time together. We're both totally bed-ridden, anyway." she joked.

The Diva giggled. "Yep. Oh wow, the Guns are doing such an amazing job out there. I just wish that I could be there backstage to support them."

"They're just as amazing as they were in TNA." Velvet smiled, her attention exclusively focused on Chris. While she watched her ex in action, she grabbed another plushie and held it to her chest, the smile never leaving her face. A few minutes later, the Guns executed one of their many finishers, getting the 3 count and the win once again.

"Yay!" AJ cheered. On TV, she saw that when Alex stood over the top turnbuckle, he sent a wink towards the camera, and she knew that that wink was just for her. "Oh, Alex..." she smiled, whispering. Damn, she really loved that man. Once Chris was shown posing over the other turnbuckle, Velvet turned a little pink in the face and clutched the plushie that she was holding even tighter. "Awesome match." she concluded.

AJ turned to look at her and noticed the lovestruck expression on her face. "Vel?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you...feeling all right?"

"Whaddya mean?"

"Well, you're as red as a rose and you're squishing the life out of my Squirtle plushie." the tiny Diva concluded.

"Oops, sorry." she loosened her grip.

AJ studied her some more before asking, "It's Chris, isn't it?"

"Uh, wh-what are you talking about?" she stuttered.

She sighed. "Look, I know what happened earlier today."

The blonde's eyes widened. "You do? But how, I thought you were sleeping."

"I was, but I stirred awake for a few minutes. I saw everything. How you were looking at him, how he was looking at you...what's going on, Velvet?" she asked quietly.

Sky nervously played around with the plushie before saying, "AJ, you have to promise me that you'll keep this between us. You can't tell anyone, you can't tell Alex, and you especially can't tell Mickie."

"Vel, I dunno...I mean, I'm great at keeping secrets, but I wouldn't feel right keeping anything from my boyfriend and my best friend."

"Ok, you can tell Alex, but that's it. But the main thing is, you cannot tell Mickie whatsoever."

Now, she sighed and shook her head. "Fine. Now what's going on?"

"I-I dunno. I mean, even though he's my ex, everything that I once felt for him is suddenly flooding back to me in some huge rush and I don't know why. Whenever he looks at me, my heart just skips a beat. And even when we were hating each other, I just used that as a cover up to hide how I was really feeling. I'm just jealous that Mickie gets to have him, now that I missed my chance when I had one with him." the blonde explained.

"Wow." was all the tiny Diva could say. "Look, Vel, I understand that you can't control your emotions, but look at the bigger picture here. Think about Mickie. She's a very good friend of yours and don't you think it'd be wrong of you to be lusting over her boyfriend?"

"That's what makes this whole situation worse. I have to put up a different front when Mickie's around, y'know, hide my feelings. But once she's gone and Chris is alone, I just can't help it. Plus, Mickie was was the one who made us become friends again, and Chris DID offer to help me while I'm injured, so why not take the advantage?" asked the Knockout.

"I still think this is wrong, Velvet." she replied. "Just try and make sure that nobody gets hurt in the end, ok?"

"I'll try. But please, do NOT tell Mickie any of this, please." she pleaded.

"I won't." AJ said, feeling guilty.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Back at the arena...

The Guns had returned backstage after their match, where Mickie met up with them. "Hey, guys, excellent work out there as always!" she exclaimed, knuckle punching with Alex and giving Chris a kiss.

"Thanks!" Shelley replied.

"I was thinking of you the entire time." Chris smiled, taking her hands. "So Alex, now that we're finished for tonight, you're free to go back to the hotel and take care of your girlfriend."

"Excellente!" he clapped his hands in reply.

"Meanwhile, I'm gonna catch a shower, and whaddya say we head out for some ice cream, Mickie?" asked Chris.

"Sounds good! But I wouldn't mind joining you in that shower. I could give you my special massage..." she purred, roaming her hands over his chest.

Sabin chuckled at this, grabbed her hand, and replied, "See you whenever, Alex, we're gonna go and have some fun! Woo hoo!"

Alex couldn't help but to laugh, and then went his own way.

Soon afterwards, he was showering up, letting the hot water soothe his tired muscles. Strangely enough, though, he had flashbacks of what Eve was saying earlier to him:

_Shelley sighed. "Eve, are you some type of stalker or something? Why do you keep bothering me?"_

_"I don't bother you! I'm just a fan!" she cried._

_"You do SO bother me! Why are you always where I am, and gawking over me like some-some leech?" he demanded._

_Chris laughed. "You tell her, Alex."_

_"Alex, there's no need to be so mean. Look, I bet you're just grumpy that your little girlfriend isn't here tonight, am I right?" she asked._

_"Why would you care? You never have anything nice to say about April."_

_"True, I don't. But still, just cheer up! I wish you all the luck in the world!" she exclaimed, planting a kiss on his cheek and strutting off before he even had a chance to say anything else._

Snapping back to reality, he sighed and then began thinking about AJ to make him feel better. The Detroit native also thought about the trip to Japan that he so desperately wanted to take her on, and smiled at the thought of her having the time of her life there. Moments later, two petite hands wrapped around his slim waist and he could feel someone nuzzling into his back. Shelley chuckled and smiled. "Ah, April, I told you to stay in bed. How do you expect to get rid of your flu this way?"

"What flu? I'm not sick." the voice replied.

Suddenly realizing that it was definitely NOT AJ's voice, he whipped around to find the near naked form of Eve Torres behind him.

"Oh, my God!" Alex snapped, tearing himself away from her. "Eve, what the fuck are you doing in here?"

"I just thought that you were so sore from your match, that...you needed a little extra attention." she said, adjusting the towel she wore around her. "Want me to unravel it? Just say the word and I'll be all yours."

"No. NO, all right?" he snapped. "Get the fuck outta here, and get the fuck out right NOW!" he snapped.

"Alex, your mind says no, but your body's saying yes." she smirked, before her eyes gazed down to his lower half to admire his member down below. "My, my, you're a large one."

His eyes widened at this and he immediately wrapped a towel around his waist and shut off the water. "You need to leave me the hell alone, ok? You're lucky if I don't press charges on you for this, you stalking little bitch." he huffed, immediately storming out of the shower stall.

Eve decided to say nothing in return and instead muttered to herself, "Oh, I'll have you to myself soon enough. That's a guarantee."

* * *

Meanwhile, Chris and Mickie were at the nearest ice cream parlor on their own little date...

"Y'know, I never pictured you as the kind of person who'd enjoy cookie dough flavored ice cream." Mickie smiled, feeding him a spoonful. "Maybe something like Rocky Road, but not cookie dough."

He smiled and fed her a spoonful of her favorite, mint chocolate chip. "And just what is wrong with me liking cookie dough?" he asked, amused. "You know me, babe, I'm totally a kid at heart! I still play with action figures, watch Saturday morning cartoons, all of that stuff!"

"And sometimes you even ask for the Happy Meal toys whenever we head to McDonalds, resulting in the cashiers always gawking at us like we're a couple of lunatics." she finished, laughing.

"But we're a couple of lovable lunatics..." he raised an eyebrow.

"I'm no lunatic. You are." she said cutely. "Then again, I must be some kind of crazy if I've been with you this long already."

"Hey!" he pouted.

"Oh, stop it, you big softie, you know I love you!" the Diva smiled, wrapping him in a kiss.

"Aw, I love you, too, babe. And you've got a little ice cream on your nose."

"What? Well get it off!" she giggled.

"Ok, if you insist." he replied, using his tongue to lick the ice cream off of the tip of her nose.

"Ah, that tickles, stop!" she squealed.

"Look, in a few hours from now back at the hotel, my tongue will be roaming all over that body of yours, so you better get used to it!" he exclaimed.

"Only if we ever had the room to ourselves. We can't really do that much while we're sharing a hotel room with three other people." the Country Diva replied.

"Yeah, I know." he nodded. "Oh well, we'll just have to wait till everyone's asleep and we could just be super quiet!"

"Oh stop it, you horndog, it's not gonna work that way!" she playfully hit him. "So on another note, you making any progress with Velvet?"

His eyes widened and he nearly swallowed his ice cream the wrong way. "Hmm?"

"Velvet? You making any progress with her?"

"What do you mean, progress? We're just friends, nothing more, I don't have any feelings for her, Mickie, I love you!" he cried out in one sentence.

She stared at him. "Is there something you'd like to tell me, Chris?"

"No! Look, I just misunderstood you for a moment. Her and I are getting along better than we've ever been, I admit that. And it's all thanks to you that we're friends again." he replied.

"Well, I was happy to do it! For your sakes and my sanity." she smiled.

The Detroit native laughed. "Mine, too."

"Just remember not to let her disability get in between our quality time too much, ok? I wouldn't want to feel like I'm losing my own boyfriend."

Chris wasn't sure if she was kidding or being serious, so he sheepishly grinned, took her hands, and replied, "I told you, babe, Velvet's only a friend. She's nothing more to me and you're the main lady in my life and that's how things will be."

"Good." she smiled, kissing him again. "So, wanna take this ice cream for the road and head back to the hotel? Gotta catch an early flight outta here tomorrow morning."

"Let's do it. And by 'do it', I mean let's have sex." Sabin replied, taking her hand and leading her out.

"Jeez, is that ALL you can think about?" she called after him.

"No, not ALL the time..." he said innocently.

* * *

Back at the hotel, AJ and Velvet were sharing a bowl of popcorn, chatting about the latest topic, when Alex returned carrying a bag of gifts. "Hey, ladies, hope you had a nice, relaxing night together."

"Hey, Shells!" greeted Velvet.

"Hey, baby." AJ smiled, giving him a kiss on the cheek since she didn't want to give him her flu. "Saw your match and you guys were excellent!"

"Thanks, I dedicated it to you." he smiled. "Soo...wanna know what's in my bag?"

"Yes, please!" the tiny Diva exclaimed.

"Anything for me in there?" asked Velvet.

"Uh...yeah, here ya go." he said flatly, tossing her a pack of Starburst.

"Candy? Aw, come on, Shells, how cheap are you?" she pouted.

He shot her a look. "Look, it's either you or Chris always calling me that and for the last time, I am NOT cheap!" he snapped.

"Hmm, someone's grouchy." she muttered, popping a starburst into her mouth.

"Now for you, my princess...a batch of white roses, your favorite." he began, handing her a bouquet.

"Alex!" she cried, delighted.

"And a huge tub of your favorite chocolate marshmallow ice cream." he finished.

"YAY! Oh, babe, you think of everything, thank you!" she exclaimed, grabbing a spoon and digging in right away.

He laughed. "No prob, babe. So is your flu getting any better?"

"To tell you the truth, I'm feeling a lot better than I did earlier. Thanks to you and everyone being complete sweethearts." the Diva smiled.

"Hey, you're our favorite little geek, so you only deserve the best. So uh, no sign of Chris and Mickie yet? Hope they're not having sex in some closet somewhere."

Velvet puffed up her lip for a moment at the thought, but shook it off. "I'm sure they're having themselves one hell of a time." she said blankly.

Alex paid no mind to her comment and glanced towards the shower in the bathroom, before having a flashback of what Eve almost did to him in the showers just a little while earlier. His fist tightly crumbled the empty bag that he was holding, and AJ took notice of this first. "Alex? You ok?" she asked.

"Hmm? Yeah, I'm fine."

Her eyes pierced into his. "No you're not. Something's bothering you. Mind telling me what it is so that I can help?"

Alex wasn't sure at first, but decided that it'd be best to tell her. "Yeah. Uh, April, there IS something I have to tell you."

"Yes? What is it?"

Velvet made sure to hear this out, she needed to hear something interesting from the outside world after being trapped in that room all day.

"Um...earlier before Chris and I had to go out for our match, Eve stopped by again." he began.

She dropped her spoon. "Oh no. What the hell did she do this time?" she demanded, serious.

"The skank tried to make another pass at me, saying that she was wishing me all the luck in the world and that she was my fan, and right then and there, she planted a kiss on the cheek." he continued.

"...WHAT?" she demanded, getting even angrier.

"Oh, and that's not even the worst part! She had the nerve to sneak up on me while I was in the _shower_..."

"She didn't." she said, wide eyed.

"Oh, she tried to. She tried to screw me right then and there, with nothing but a towel on. But I told her to fuck off somewhere and I just high tailed it outta there." he finished.

Velvet whistled. "Damn, shit's going down."

The tiny Diva angrily tightened her grip on her blanket cover. "That bitch. I cannot believe that she did that." she whispered quietly. "She KNOWS that you belong to me and she has the nerve-"

Alex placed his hand over hers to calm her down. "I'm so sorry, April, I hope you're not pissed at me for this."

Her features softened once she looked up at her boyfriend. "No, Alex, you have nothing to apologize for. I'm glad that you were honest and told me everything, and now I have an even bigger reason to want to kick her teeth down her throat."

He chuckled. "That's my girl. So, you sure you're not mad?"

"At you, of course not. Come here." she said, wrapping her arms around him in a hug as he did the same. "I love you so much."

"I love you just the same. Now I just can't wait till your flu is gone so that we can resume our hot and heavy make out sessions again!" Shelley exclaimed, smiling.

"Ha, I've been dying without getting a kiss from you from this long!" she laughed back.

"Guys, you've only gone like, one and a half days without kissing." Velvet announced.

"And that's one and a half days too long! Once she gets better, we're gonna have one hell of a lot of make up kissing that we are obligated to do." he replied matter-of-factly.

The blonde laughed. "You guys are so weird." she smiled.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

The next Sunday before the next Raw, AJ was feeling a lot better from her flu and was well enough to finally leave the hotel. So to celebrate, she and Mickie headed out to the mall for their own little girls' day out...

"Man, does it feel good to once again join the land of the living!" the tiny Diva exclaimed, looking through a shelf of converses. "If it weren't for all of you, I'd probably never get better and worst of all, I'd never get to make out with Alex anymore!" she cried.

Mickie laughed. "Oh, what a tragedy." she said sarcastically.

"Don't mock me, it's true!" she cried.

"Ah, I know, I know! But seriously, AJ, I'm glad that you're better, too. Besides, I'd much rather go shopping with you than with Velvet at the moment." the Country Diva replied.

"What? Why not? Did she do something?" she asked, picking up a crop top.

Mickie picked up a pair of ripped jeans and looked over them. "I dunno. It's just...have you noticed that Chris has been acting a little weird lately?"

She chuckled. "Well, he is a little odd sometimes, so define 'weird'."

"He's...jumpy! And he gets jumpy every time I mention Velvet's name." she continued. "Plus, he's been spending an awful lot of time with her lately."

"But he's just helping her...isn't he?" AJ asked, heading into one of the changing stalls, with Mickie entering the one beside hers.

"Maybe a little too much. See, this is what happened earlier..." the Diva began.

_Flashback..._

_Earlier that day, Chris and Mickie were in the gang's hotel room, and they were on the couch playing a came of footsie._

_"Don't fight it, Mickie, I'm gonna beat you and you know it!" he exclaimed, using his feet to push back hers._

_"Oh, don't be so modest, sweetie! You know that I've beaten you in arm wrestling, and I can just as easily beat you at this!" she laughed, struggling to push his back. "I know I can!"_

_"Look, I see that your huge ego's clouding your better judgment, missy!"_

_"Oh, huge ego? Look who's talking, arrogant!" she exclaimed back, but her knees were now being brought up to her chest. "Ok, ow, ow, OW, Chris, stop it!" she cried, giggling._

_He laughed back and playfully crawled over her. "Told ya." _

_"Oh, shut up and kiss me." she pouted, pulling his lips down to hers. His hand traveled down to her waist to pull her body up to his, but right before things really got hot..._

_"CHRIS!" Velvet called from the other room._

_The two broke away. "Uh, what is it, Vel?" he called._

_"I can't reach the remote! Could you hand it over to me, please?" she called back._

_Mickie raised an eyebrow. "Babe, hold on a second. Doesn't it seem like her requests are getting more and more ridiculous every day?"_

_"What do you mean?"_

_"Like earlier this morning, she said that the room was too hot, so you had to drop everything to open the window. And like, five minutes later, she's saying that the room's too cold, so you have to go BACK in there to close it!" she exclaimed._

_He sighed. "Mickie, I know it's a little much, but she's not well enough to get up and fix it herself."_

_"She was well enough to get up when she asked you to help slip her robe on." the Diva argued._

_"Chris, you coming or what?" Velvet called. _

_"And why does she always have to call you every time? Why not me, AJ, or Alex?" she continued._

_"Babe, look, I'm sorry if it seems like I've been neglecting you, but I'm not. Velvet asked me to help her and I don't want to leave her hanging like that." Chris replied seriously. "Now I gotta go, I'll be back in a sec." he kissed her. "I love you, Mickie."_

_She grabbed his wrist. "I love you too, Chris." _

_Slowly letting his wrist go, she sighed in defeat. Velvet was really beginning to get on her nerves._

_Back to today..._

"Since when has Velvet become so needy and-and so..so..." Mickie began.

"Clingy with your boyfriend?" AJ finished.

"Yes! Clingy! I don't know if she's just jealous or what, but Chris is mine!" she said confidently.

"I know exactly how you feel. It's the same with Eve and Alex. Except, Eve's just being an annoying bitch who doesn't know how to keep her hands off of someone else's man." the tiny Diva shook her head. "I can't wait to come back to Raw tomorrow and ring her damn neck."

"I'll be more than happy to help! I'll take out Beth just in case she tries anything funny." Mickie agreed with a smile.

Little did they know, Eve, Beth, and Natalya just happened to be at that EXACT same mall at the EXACT same place that the girls just happened to be. Again.

The three overheard everything going on from the stalls, and Eve was ticked off. "Oh, is that right?" she hissed, alluding to what AJ had just said. "She thinks that I'm an annoying bitch?"

"You are." Nattie said quickly and quietly.

"Well, she won't think I'm so annoying after tomorrow. Then again, she's not gonna make it to Raw tomorrow to begin with. Or Mickie." the Latina replied.

"What makes you so sure of that?" asked Beth. "So far, I'm really liking your style, so I'm interested in hearing what's in store next."

"Well thank you, Beth. At least someone appreciates high class revenge, unlike some others." she said, sending a glare towards Natalya.

"You? High class? Look, Evie, I've been taught that if it looks like a duck and walks like a duck-" she began.

"Oh, go to hell!" Eve spat back, shoving her.

"You're talking to the wrong woman, sister." Nattie replied, shoving her back.

"Ladies, ladies!" Beth cried, breaking them up. "Let's stop insulting each other and focus on the ones we REALLY have to make miserable." she gestured towards Mickie and AJ, who still had no idea they were even there. "Now what was your plan, Eve?"

"Oh, right. You two, grab a bunch of accessories or something." the Colorado native announced.

Natalya just crossed her arms.

"Come on, Nattie, grab some things." said Beth.

"I am not doing a damn thing for that bitch." she spat. "And you shouldn't, either!"

"Nattie, come on, don't you want to humiliate those two Barbies and get rid of em?"

"Not if I have to follow under her rule." the Canadian replied. "You can go ahead and be her lackey, Beth, but count me out."

Before the blonde could reply, Eve pushed past them and dropped a whole bunch of accessories and small clothing into AJ and Mickie's purses. "Now that was the easy part. The fun part will happen in just a few moments." she smiled. "Now come on, come on, hide!" she dragged them both behind a rack of clothes.

Moments later...

"Forget it, I have a pair of jeans like these back at home." Mickie said, putting them back. "Ready to go?"

She put her crop top back onto the shelf. "Sure thing." she replied, grabbing her purse as Mickie did with hers. "Hey, before we leave, I want to stop by Gamestop to see if anything new's in."

"Sure thing-" Mickie was cut off when once they walked through the exit, the alarm started beeping. "What the hell..."

A security guard approached the two. "Uh, excuse me ladies, could you two step aside for a moment?" he asked.

"What? Um, sir, we haven't even brought anything from here." AJ replied.

"Yeah, maybe your machine thing here's just on the brink or something." the Country Diva agreed.

"Step aside." the guard said sternly. "Empty your purses."

"Our purses? Are you assuming that we stole from here?" she demanded.

From their hiding place, both Eve and Beth were grinning evilly, but Nattie wasn't amused one bit.

"Surely there's some kind of misunderstanding. Let's just empty them and prove that we didn't do anything." AJ said calmly. But then came the shock of their lives once they emptied their purses and a variety of accessories, bras, short skirts, and such all fell out and onto the floor. Baffled and wide eyed, the friends shot a look at one another.

"We-we didn't do this." Mickie announced.

The guard snarled a little. "You two, come in the back with me."

"But sir, we did not do this! This is some kind of mistake!" the tiny Diva pleaded.

The guard heard none of it and led the both to the store's back room. "You two are aware that shoplifting is a crime, right?" he asked.

"Shoplifting?" they both cried at once.

"Why would we feel the need to shoplift, we have plenty of cash to just buy something!" the Country Diva exclaimed.

"Yes, somebody must've framed us or something, because we did not do it!" AJ agreed.

"Lying just makes things worse. You ladies are in some pretty serious trouble." he announced.

The two shakily looked at one another, not knowing what to say or do.

* * *

About two hours later, back at the gang's hotel, Alex was busy playing a few new video games, totally absorbed in himself for the moment. "Agh! Damn it, Zelda, how come you never listen?" he yelled at the TV. "Ah, guess I have to restart the level. Again." Soon after that, his cell rang. "Talk to me."

_"A-Alex?" _a shaky voice asked on the other line.

He raised an eyebrow. "April? Is that you?"

_"Yeah."_

"Babe, you don't sound so good. Is something up?"

_"It's bad. Alex...Mickie and I are in jail."_ she announced.

Shocked, he stared at his phone in disbelief. "...What?" he demanded.

_"Alex, you and Chris need to get here, I'm so scared!"_

"Ok, don't worry, baby, we'll be right there in no time. Just hang in there." the Detroit native said, before he rushed off to find Chris.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

A little while later, AJ and Mickie were still locked in their cell at the town jail, waiting for their guys to rescue them. April, of course, was terrified, but Mickie was nothing short of pissed.

"How the hell could this have happened to us?" Mickie asked, laying down on the bench and staring at the ceiling. "After what happened with us and Alex's crazy stalker last year, I never thought I'd ever have to see the inside of a jail cell again."

"I know." AJ replied in a small voice. "Somebody obviously framed us back there. Somebody stuffed all those items in our purses and wanted for us to get caught. Think it was some sick prank by a few teenagers or something?"

"Heh, I dunno. If it was, as soon as I get outta here, I'd kick their asses in." the Country Diva grumbled.

"Well, I just want to get OUT of here. I hope Alex and Chris are on their way."

"Chris better be on his way with Alex, because I tried calling him again and again, and he never picked up!" Mickie snapped.

"Never picked up, huh? Mickie...you think Velvet has anything to do with him not picking up the phone?" AJ asked, turning to her.

The Diva was silent for a moment. "She better not. Chris's own girlfriend is here sitting in a JAIL cell, and he could be off taking care of that cripple AGAIN?"

The other Diva didn't know how to respond, but before anything else happened, a guard approached the cell. "Lee, James, you're free to go."

They leapt up, and Alex and Chris rushed to meet the girls.

"Alex!" AJ exclaimed, running free from her cell and into Shelley's strong arms. "Thank God you came!"

"Of course I did! You ok?" he asked, soothingly roaming his hand up and down her back.

"Chris!" Mickie cried, running into his strong arms next.

"Oh babe, I am so sorry I didn't hear about this earlier. I had no idea you were here in jail and I would've came in a heartbeat." Sabin said, combing his fingers through her hair. But then, she pulled away and glared at him.

"Well, why the hell didn't you?" she snapped. "I called you like, 5 times and I didn't get any answer from you!"

"I'm sorry, Mickie! Look, I heard about this from Alex-"

"Alex shouldn't have had to be the one to let you know that I was in JAIL! Where the hell were you?" she demanded.

Her answer came when Velvet and her crutches joined them. "Oh my God, Mickie, AJ are you guys all right? Chris and I heard that you two were arrested!" she exclaimed.

AJ flashed her a friendly smile, but Mickie shot her a look. "Oh, now I get it. You were taking care of her again, weren't you, Chris?" she asked.

He sighed. "Yes, I was. She needed to get a few groceries from the store. She obviously couldn't drive, so I had to take her!" he explained.

The Diva nodded, not pleased one bit. "Of course you did."

"Mickie, can you please stop being like this?" the Detroit native asked.

"No, just forget it. Take me home." she stormed off, paying no mind to Velvet.

"Mickie?" she asked, confused. "Did...I do something wrong?"

"No, Vel. I did." Chris sighed.

After another uncomfortable silence, Alex spoke up and said, "Ok, let's all just get back to the hotel and we can figure out how all of this happened later on. Let's go." he said, taking AJ's hand.

* * *

Later that evening at the hotel...

"So you guys were arrested for false shoplifting?" asked Alex. "How's that even possible?"

"It's possible if someone purposely stuffed your purse with unpaid items." AJ replied, lying down on the bed in exhaustion.

"But who would want to do such a thing?" asked Velvet.

"That's what we're trying to figure out." the Diva replied, before looking towards Mickie who was scrunched up under the covers on the other bed, facing the wall. "But I'm really worried about Mickie." she whispered.

"This is all my fault." Chris said quietly, approaching his girlfriend. "Mickie?" he asked, gently shaking her. "You ok?"

Without looking at him, she pulled away from him.

"Babe, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry that I never picked up the phone. I don't blame you for being pissed at me, but either way, I still love you like crazy. Please Mickie, say something." he pleaded.

Velvet, who was secretly watching, wasn't moved.

Then, the Country Diva lightly touched his hand.

"Does this mean that you forgive me?" he asked, gently gliding a thumb across her hand.

She turned around to face him. "Yes. Just promise me that nothing like this will ever happen again, ok?"

"Cross my heart."

"Ok." she smiled, pulling him down for a kiss. Velvet scoffed quietly and turned away.

* * *

The next day, the gang headed to the newest arena for the next installment of Raw.

Everyone (including Velvet) were in the Guns locker room, except for AJ, who strolled out to grab a drink from the vending machine. She was still pissed about what happened the previous day, but decided to just shake it off and focus on tonight. On her way back, someone called, "Psst!"

She looked around.

"PSST!"

She turned around to find Natalya hiding behind a wall. "Over here." she whispered.

"Natalya? What do you want?" she demanded.

"Look, I know about what happened to you and Mickie yesterday." the Canadian replied.

AJ rolled her eyes. "I'm sure the whole world knows."

"No, no, but I know who did it. I know who dropped all those upaid items in your purse."

Her eyes widened. "You were there?"

"Yes I was, but I had absolutely nothing to do with it, I swear. This was all Eve's idea. She was the one who wanted to send you two to jail." she confessed.

A light dawned on AJ and she mentally slapped herself in the face. "Of course. Why didn't I guess that this was all her fault? You know what, when I caught that flu a few weeks ago so suddenly, I bet that Eve was behind that too, wasn't she?"

"Yep, she switched the drinks around and you ended up getting some contaminated dude's drink." the blonde answered simply.

The tiny Diva was pissed, so to let out her anger she screamed and angrily kicked a wall. But then stubbed her toes. "OW! Ow, ow, ow, ow!" she cried, hopping up and down.

"You ok there?" Nattie asked, hiding a smirk.

"I'm fine. But Natalya, why are you telling me all this? Isn't Eve on your side or something?"

"No, she is definitely NOT on my side. That bitch thinks that she owns the world and she's stealing Beth, my best friend and MY sister, away from me! I'll do anything to take that whore down." she said, dead serious.

"Wow, well...I appreciate you for telling me. Thanks." she mustered a smile.

"No sweat. But uh, this didn't come from me, ok?"

"Sure. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go and find the resident ho." AJ finished, storming off while Nattie smiled and said to herself, "Get her good, girl."

A few moments later, Eve was admiring herself in a mirror, where AJ approached her and whipped her around roughly. "I know what you did." she announced.

Eve looked shocked and pulled herself away. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me! I know that you were the one responsible for framing both me and Mickie as shoplifters and getting us thrown in jail!"

The Latina looked at her, wide eyed.

"And I ALSO know that you had some part in getting me sick that other night. You wanted me to miss the last Raw so that you could get your claws into Alex. I know, he told me himself that you tried to whore yourself onto him in the showers. But this, getting us thrown in jail? This is the last straw. You listen to me and you listen good. I'm through with being nice. At Extreme Rules, I'm requesting a match. An Unsanctioned match, between me and you. You accept?" she asked, pointing a finger at her. "Oh, and if you don't know what Unsanctioned means, it means a Hardcore match."

"I know what it means, thank you very much." Eve began, but an evil smile grew on her face once she saw Alex coming behind AJ. "But I accept. On one condition."

"Name it."

"If the winner of the match gets to keep Alex Shelley." she smiled.

AJ's eyes got big and she grew a little pale for a moment, as did Alex. "What?" he demanded. "What the hell's going on here?"

"Glad you could join us, Alexander. We were just setting up our next match at Extreme Rules, and if-WHEN I win, I get to keep you. Isn't that great?" the Latina exclaimed, at AJ's expense.

Shelley lightly shook his head and tightened his grip around April's waist. "No. No, that isn't gonna happen. April, say something."

Once she finally found her voice again, her anger grew 10x and she replied, "You're on. And for the record, I'M going to win and kick your whoring little ass."

"Ha HA! Nice dreaming, sweetie. But I'm gonna go and tell Johnny the good news and I'm sure he'll approve. Toodles!" she exclaimed, strutting off.

Once she was out of sight, AJ screamed again and angrily pounded a wall, this time hurting her hands. "OW! Ow, ow, ow!"

Alex took her hands. "Baby, stop, stop. April, are you sure about this? Maybe you just accepted from out of anger or something, you weren't really thinking."

She sighed and felt herself suddenly tearing up. "I dunno. Alex, I think that I just made a huge mistake."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

So during the next week, AJ was feeling worse and worse about her chances of winning at the next Pay Per View, with Alex and her friends doing all they could to cheer her up. On Sunday, she wasn't feeling any better. Now in their hotel room, the five of them were playing a game of Monopoly.

"Ok, Velvet, your turn." announced Alex.

She rolled the dice and ended up on a Jail square on the board. "Aw, crap. Can anyone deal a 'Get Out of Jail Free' card for me, please? I'll be trapped here forever!"

Mickie looked at her deck and found that she had one, but she sure as hell wasn't helping the woman who was slowly stealing away her boyfriend. "Nope, nothing here. Guess you'll have to be trapped in jail for the rest of the game! Boo hoo." the Diva mocked with a smirk. Poetic justice, maybe?

Velvet noticed this and asked, "Ok, Mickie, what the hell is your problem?" she demanded.

"What do you mean?" she asked blankly, shuffling the play money that she earned in the game.

"You've been acting so cold and mean towards me ever since the day we got you out of jail! What the hell did I do?" she demanded.

She laughed. "What did you do? What did you DO? Look, you've been needier than usual, and the only person you ever call or depend on is Chris. MY boyfriend. Now why is that, Vel?"

Chris sighed. "Mickie, please stop."

"Mickie, YOU were the one who asked for us to stop fighting and become friends! I can't help that we've become close again!"

"Closer than necessary! You have to get him to drop everything and hand you the damned remote, which is only about two feet away from you? Please!" the Country Diva snapped back.

"Look, I have to keep it easy on my leg if I hope to get better, all right?"

"Yeah right! You probably don't want to heal very quickly because the longer you're crippled, the more time Chris gets to spend with you." she continued.

"Hey hey, can I get a say in this, please?" Sabin spoke up. "Now Mickie, I already apologized for the jail incident, but Velvet couldn't help getting injured! It was just a freak accident!"

"Oh, so now you're defending her?" she cried. "Don't let her screw around with your head, Chris, she probably injured herself on PURPOSE, just so she could get to you."

"Why the hell would I want to injure myself and jeopardize my career?" Velvet demanded. "That was a legit injury, I landed the wrong way! God, I've never been more insulted in my life!"

"You think I'm insulting you? You haven't seen the real me, this is me just being nice!" she snapped.

"God, could you both just shut up and stop arguing for five minutes?" AJ snapped, getting the attention of everyone. "I already have enough crap to deal with, and I really don't need to sit here and listen to this!" she cried, getting up and storming out of the bedroom.

The four looked in her direction, but when Mickie was about to get up, Alex stopped her. "No, I need to talk to her." he announced.

...

Moments later, the tiny Diva was crouched into a little ball onto the couch, where her boyfriend joined her by wrapping his arms around her. "April, I know that the match is still bothering you."

"I shouldn't have accepted. Alex, I just put YOU at stake, and you are TOO much for me to lose." she sniffled. "What the hell was I thinking?"

"Hey, you were just pissed, so that's why you accepted. Hell, I say things that I don't mean to say when I'm pissed. Just ask Chris, he's cried enough times from my verbal abuse."

She laughed. "But this is different. I mean, it's Eve I'm facing here. What if she brings her little posse with her to ringside to try to screw me out of winning?"

"Then you bring your posse to ringside, too. Mickie, Chris, and I will be more than happy to back you up."

"I'd love that, but I don't think that things between Chris and Mickie are going very well right now, and I don't need any more drama to distract me."

"Fine, then I'll be right there in your corner. I promise." Shelley said, kissing the side of her neck.

"Awesome, I'll need all the motivation I can get." the Diva replied, lacing her fingers with his. "But still, I can't help but to think, what if the worst happens? What happens if I lose you, Shells?"

"Hey, stop thinking like that. The more upset you are, the more you're gonna be off of your game. You are not going to lose me to her, because I know that you can beat her. You just have to believe in yourself. Besides, don't even count yourself out. Even if you're small, you have one hell of a lot of heart and that counts more than you'll ever know." he smiled.

The brunette sniffled. "I remember telling you and Chris that once, but it's great hearing it again. Thanks for the little talk, baby, I needed to hear that." she said graciously.

"No problem. I love you so much, April."

"I love you too, Alex." she replied, before they wrapped themselves in another kiss.

* * *

The next night, it was the last Raw before Extreme Rules, and Eve had one final plan in store to make a serious point to AJ. Now, both she and Mickie were in a tag team match against Beth and Nattie once again.

Nattie and Mickie traded a few blows before Nattie countered and got the Country Diva in the Sharpshooter. She cried out in pain and reached for the ropes, as her hand shook, threatening for her to tap out. She slowly crawled towards the ropes, but Nattie laughed and dragged her back towards the middle of the ring. This time, Mickie got the upper hand and rolled over onto her back, countering the move and sending a rough kick to the Canadian's abdomen.

She crouched down, Mickie used her legs to pull herself back up, and aimed to finish her off with a roundhouse kick, but Nattie saw this and shoved her towards the corner turnbuckle. Fortunately, AJ was there and she tagged herself in. There, she flashed Nattie a small smile of gratitude for what she told her the other day, and Nattie sent her a small nod back. Then, the two locked up before the tiny Diva took her down with a hurricanrana. Next, she climbed onto the top rope while Nattie was down, and targeted her opponent below, but before anything could happen, Eve Torres sped through the crowd, leapt over the barricade, and grabbed AJ's leg before pulling her down. The brunette crotch-landed onto the top turnbuckle, and she cried out in pain, but before she could get up, Eve dragged her out of the ring and onto the mat below and screamed something to her before roughly slapping her across the face.

"OH!" the crowd cried. Next, Eve held back AJ's arms and gestured for Beth to get a few punches in, and she smiled evilly, happy to oblige. Before she could, though, Mickie leapt in and tackled Beth down, starting a separate brawl out on ringside. Natalya, in the meantime, really didn't know what to do, so she reluctantly watched. Eve turned to her and demanded that she attack AJ, but the Canadian shot her a look and decided not to do anything else.

With Eve's head turned, AJ took the opportunity to get out of the Latina's hold and sent a few rough punches across her face, but the momentum was stopped once Eve grabbed a hold of her and roughly rammed her back onto the side of the ring. She cried out in pain and sunk to the floor. Eve laughed at this and continued on her assault by grabbing onto her hair and tossing her into the barricades. Both Eve and Beth approached her, but before they could do any more damage, Mickie quickly looked under the ring and grabbed a steel chair, threateningly swinging it towards the girls to scare them away.

Once they backed off, Mickie went to check on her tag team partner, and little did either of them knew, Alex joined the fray, needing to check on his girlfriend.

"April! Babe, you all right?" he asked, gently sitting her back up.

She nodded, but then saw Eve from behind him. "Alex, look out!" she cried.

He whipped around to be cornered by a lusting Eve, who smiled and roamed her hands over his chest. He pushed her away, but before he could turn back to AJ, the Latina did the unthinkable and threw herself onto him, locking her lips with his in a kiss!

Infuriated, the tiny Diva let out a scream, leapt up, and tackled Eve to the ground and began throwing a slew of punches and kicks towards the Latina. Before anyone was going to get killed, Beth and Nattie had to hold back Eve while Alex and Mickie held back a fuming AJ. The tiny Diva raised her arms, saying that she had calmed down, but when Alex and Mickie loosened their grip, AJ ran ahead and pummeled Eve into the barricades, with the Latina kicking her off of her.

Shelley and James rushed to restrain the smaller woman, when Alex literally slung her over his shoulder and carried her backstage, along with Mickie. Eve, on the other hand, brushed her hair away from her face once she shook herself away from Beth and Natalya.

* * *

Once the three finally ended up backstage, Alex let her down and Mickie asked, "Hey, hey, it's over now! Are you ok?"

"OK? How the hell can I be ok when that-that-BITCH just kissed my boyfriend?" she snapped, breathing heavily. "On Sunday, I am going to DESTROY her."

"All right, listen. Mickie, you take April back to her locker room, while I'll be in the guys' room for the next hour scrubbing my mouth out with soap." Alex announced.

"You really need an hour, huh?" asked Mickie.

"Yes. I think her tongue snaked its way into my mouth." he said with a small gag. "I'll be back."

Once he headed off, Mickie linked arms with her best friend, with her tag title slung over her shoulder. "Sorry that had to even happen, AJ. I should've attacked them both with that steel chair when I had the chance."

"Forget it, it's not your fault. So uh, everything better with you and Chris? Things got pretty bad last night." the tiny Diva said.

"I dunno, we haven't really talked much since then. Thank God that Velvet chose to stay at the hotel, though, because I sure as hell couldn't go out there knowing that she and Chris are alone in that room together."

"Wait, so you're saying that you don't trust Chris?"

"No, I'm not saying that. I trust Chris completely, it's Velvet who I don't trust. She's the one who's straining our relationship and it's...it's just taking a toll on the both of us." the perky Diva sighed. "I don't know what to do."

"What you need to do, Micks, is just make your point that Chris belongs to you and nobody else. Maybe once Velvet sees that, she'll lay off." replied AJ.

She nodded. "I'll try anything to keep the man that I love." she agreed, heading back into their locker room, where they found Chris lying on the couch and sleeping.

"Aww, he looks so cute when he's asleep." AJ smiled, whispering.

"I know, right? I wonder what he's dreaming about." Mickie added, approaching him and kissing him on the cheek.

Chris tossed and turned a bit, but this was what was going through his sleeping mind...

...

_Both he and Mickie were at a bar, playing a game of pool. She aimed and shot about 3 balls into the table's pockets, and said, "I'm in the lead, Chrismeister. Bet you can't beat that."_

_He smirked and grabbed the cue. "So you say, Sweet Mickie. But that over competitiveness has surely gotten control of your brain. Take a look at the true master at work." he said, shooting the white ball, to where he ended up shooting another 3 balls into their pockets. "How's that?"_

_Mickie gazed at the younger man with lust in her eyes as she slowly approached him. "Hot. Just like you." she said in a seductive voice. Next, she shoved him down on the pool table before she climbed over him, roaming her hands over his chest and straddling him. "Oh God, Chris, I need you."_

_Sabin pulled her down for an intense kiss, when he uttered, "I need you, too."_

_"Let's just get down to business right here on this pool table. We have the place to ourselves, so let's just go for it." she tossed her head back where her hair was slung over one shoulder. Chris found this even hotter and he was turned on that much more. "Why don't you take off that shirt and we can start from there." he announced._

_"I can do better than that." the Country Diva said, whipping off her shirt in one swoop, and then her hands moved to her back to undo her red laced bra. "Want me to take it off?" _

_He nodded quickly. "Yes, ma'am."_

_"Say please."_

_"Please!"_

_"Ok, close your eyes." she said, smiling._

_"But how am I supposed to see anything if you want me to close my eyes?" he asked._

_"Just...close...them." _

_"Ok, ok." he obliged. A few moments later, he felt someone's luscious lips kissing the sweet spot on his neck that made him moan every time. "Oh, Mickie...you are going to be the death of me, I swear."_

_The voice giggled. A very different giggle than what he was used to hearing, though. Once he opened his eyes again, he was shocked to see the form of Velvet straddling him instead of Mickie! She had on a pink laced bra and a very short mini skirt._

_"VELVET?" he cried, wide eyed._

_"Who else would it be, silly?" the blonde smiled, ripping open his shirt and sending a trail of kisses down his toned chest and abs. "I am your fantasy come true."_

_"But...I love Mickie." he uttered, feeling nothing but bliss at the moment. "She's my girlfriend."_

_"Well, after I get through with you, I'll end up changing your mind." Velvet said lustfully, her hand snaking into his boxers and grabbing his member underneath. He cried out in surprise, but his cries were muffled once she wrapped the Detroit native in a passionate kiss..._

"No, NO, I HAVE A GIRLFRIEND!" Chris yelled, shooting up from his position on the couch in the locker room.

Shocked, Mickie, AJ, and Alex (who just arrived there) turned to him.

"Chris, are you ok?" asked Mickie.

He nervously looked around. "Uh, uh, yeah! Just had a bad dream is all."

"What about? You were screaming about me." she replied.

Obviously he couldn't tell her what he was REALLY dreaming about. "Uh, the penguins were after me and held you hostage, that's what happened." he lied.

Silence.

Then, he turned his attentions to Alex, who had suds coming from out of his mouth. "Dude! Are you foaming at the mouth? Did you contract rabies from a raccoon outside or something?" he asked, shocked.

Shelley shook his head. "Eve kissed me earlier."

"...STD then?" Chris asked blankly.

AJ and Mickie laughed.

"No, dillweed, it's Irish Spring, thank you very much." he concluded.

"Wow, you really washed your mouth out with soap. That bad, huh?" he asked.

"Yeah, I..." Alex paused, realizing something. He slowly took something off of his tongue.

The others looked towards him.

"...I wasn't chewing gum." he announced wearily, taking the gum out.

Chris and Mickie winced.

"Oh, Eve, that bitch is going down come Sunday." AJ announced surely.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Fast forwarding to April 29th, it was Sunday, and it was time for the Extreme Rules PPV in Rosemont, Illinois. All through the past week, Alex helped AJ learn some more moves in the ring, in order to throw Eve off by surprise, and with each passing day, the Diva felt more confident than before. Now, the gang, (minus Velvet), were in their locker room...

"Well, it's crunch time. You ready for this, girlie?" asked Mickie.

She stretched her arms. "I think so. The man of my dreams is at stake, so I have to be." she said, looking at Alex.

"You got this, baby, I know it." Alex smiled, giving her a kiss.

"Then why do I suddenly feel so nervous?" she asked.

Chris massaged her shoulders. "Last minute jitters, everyone gets em." he told her. "Just remember everything that Eve did to you, and let that anger out during your match. You'll tear her apart." he smiled.

She smiled in return. "Thanks, you guys."

Then, a stagehand knocked on the door and said, "Time to go, AJ."

"No worries, April, I'll be right there at ringside the whole time. You're not gonna lose me to her." Alex announced.

"Yeah, you're right. C'mon, let's get out there, Shelleykins. Later, Mickie, Chris!" she called, taking Alex's hand and heading out.

"Good luck!" called Mickie.

"Bring Alex back to us in one piece!" joked Chris. "So, uh, Mickie. I've noticed that you and Velvet haven't been at each other's throats lately. Is this a sign of things to come?"

She shrugged. "I dunno, she's been strangely quiet over the last week and she hasn't been as needy as she was before." she replied. "Look, I know that she's your friend and all, and is _supposedly _my friend, but could you just do me a favor?"

"Sure, name it."

"I have no problem with you taking care of her, but could you just...tell her to tone it down a bit? Like, if she needs simple things that she could normally do by herself, she shouldn't have to call you to do that for her. Get what I mean?" she asked.

He nodded. "That's a good point. Sure, I'll try not to be too much of her servant boy. I'd rather be your servant boy instead." he smiled.

She laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck, sitting on his lap. "I like the thought of you doing favors for me, Chives."

He raised an eyebrow. "..._Chives?"_ he asked, amused. "Is that my new Servant Boy name?"

"Maybe, it depends..." she smiled, giving him a kiss. "But all I'm trying to say, Chris, is that I feel like I'm losing you to Velvet. I'm still your number one girl, right?" the brunette pouted, giving puppy eyes.

"Aw, how could I ever resist that adorable face? You were, are, and always will be my number one girl, Sweet Mickie. I love you." he said, serious.

"I love you too, Sabin." she smiled, kissing him again. "Now, let's see our friend kick some ass out there."

* * *

Outside, the match was just about to begin, and since it was an unsanctioned match, the girls were pretty excited considering they could do whatever the hell they wanted and not get disqualified for it. They could use all sorts of weapons, so it was a basic free for all. Eve's music began first, and the crowd immediately burst into a chorus of boos.

_She looks good to me_

_She's got everything I want_

_(She's got everything I need)_

_She looks good!_

_She looks good to me_

_She's got everything I want_

_(Oh yeah)..._

Eve stepped out and stopped at the top of the ramp, did her pose, but then appeared to be waiting for someone else to join her. A few moments later and to everyone's surprise, Dolph Ziggler soon joined her as her backup just in case anything were to go wrong. The boos grew louder as the two headed to the ring.

"This match is scheduled for one fall and it is an Extreme Rules Unsanctioned match! Approaching the ring first from Denver, Colorado, accompanied by Dolph Ziggler, Eve Torres!" announced Lillian.

As the two continued heading down the ramp and into the ring, the crowd continued their boos with some people chanting 'HOESKI! HOESKI! HOESKI!'. The Latina shook her head and scoffed at this, while Dolph whispered something to her and she nodded. Right after that, the Guns theme blasted through the arena as the crowd went red hot.

_"Hundred miles an hour on a dead end road_

_I need a little Detroit in my soul_

_Every night's hotel a different name_

_It's part of the game_

_Everybody wants to be just like me_

_Fame and fortune is their fantasy_

_I gotta get back where the life was pretty_

_Rockin all the way to the Motorcity_

_Motorcity, motorcity, motorcity, I'm rockin' all the way to the motorcity..."_

Both AJ and Alex stopped at the top of the ramp, stood back to back, and posed their 'Guns' sign before Alex took his girlfriend's hand and they headed down to the ring next. "And her opponent from Union City, New Jersey, accompanied by Alex Shelley, she is one half of the WWE Diva's Tag Team Champions, AJ Lee!" announced Lillian.

The pair usually went out of their way to slap the fans' hands, but tonight was all business as they headed down the ramp with serious looks on their faces. Alex held the second rope down, allowing AJ to step in first. The tiny Diva stood over the top turnbuckle and posed for the fans, while Eve was staring bullets through her. Oh, the torture that she would put her through. Once AJ stepped down, she noticed Eve's glare, and then noticed once she turned her gaze to Alex, the Latina blowing him a kiss and mouthing, 'You WILL be mine...'

To mock her, Shelley purposely leaned down and wrapped AJ in a passionate kiss, eliciting some 'WHOOs' and cheers from the crowd. But Eve was having NONE of that. Furious, she shoved past the referee and jumped AJ down from behind. Alex slid out of the ring, where Eve continued pummeling the tiny Diva to the ground. AJ quickly rolled her over and repaid her by sending a slew of hard punches across the Latina's face. Soon enough, they both stood back up and threw punch after punch after punch to one another at the same time, the both of them wanting to take the other down.

AJ took the advantage first though, by performing a diving kneeling jawbreaker, followed by a swinging fisherman suplex. Eve was stunned by this new arsenal of moves, and when she was down and her back was turned, AJ sneakily but quickly slipped off her boot. Once Eve turned back around to face her, she didn't have time to react once the tiny Diva forcefully whacked the Latina across the face with her shoe. Torres tried to get up, but once again, a fuming AJ whacked her in the head with the shoe once more, as the crowd cheered along.

At ringside, Dolph was urging for Eve to get back up, while Alex smiled and cheered his girlfriend on. Next, AJ quickly slipped her boot back on and approached the Latina again, but Eve surprised her by giving her a surprise neckbreaker, one of Dolph's moves. Apparently, he'd been training her, too. The Colorado native continued the assault once she blew a kiss towards Alex, before forcefully Irish whipping the Diva across her chest. She held her chest in pain and rolled out of the ring, when Alex came to her aid. Eve decided not to give the couple their moment, when she grabbed the brunette by the hair and tossed her over the barricades and near the crowd.

The fans cheered at this action that was literally before their eyes, and AJ got the offensive once she rolled over Eve and began punching and kicking at her once again. The tiny Diva then got up, had an arm hooked around Eve's neck, let out a scream, and leapt back over to the other side, allowing Eve to crash jaw first onto the barricade. The fans cheered in favor of the Jersey native, and Dolph rushed to check on Eve while Alex shared another kiss with her. Things seemed to be looking up...for now.

Eve soon stumbled up and climbed over the barricade, holding her jaw to make sure that it wasn't shattered. Pissed at this, she charged towards AJ and forcefully rammed her back-first onto the side of the ring, where she yelled out in pain. Next, Eve pulled her up and slammed her repeatedly onto the announcer's table, where the commentators had to stand up and move away for their own safety. Alex called for AJ to keep up the fight, but Dolph turned his attentions to Shelley and mockingly called, "Give it up, your little girlfriend doesn't stand a chance! You're gonna be a part of OUR stable soon!"

Alex stormed up to him and asked, "Really? Really?" before bitch slapping the bleach blonde.

"OH!" called the crowd. Dolph went back to his corner, while Eve targeted a weakened AJ once again. The tiny Diva slid off of the announcer's table, not seeing Eve slip out a table from under the ring. Uh oh. Before setting it up, she had on a sadistic smirk before tossing the table at AJ, weakening her even further. Eve outspread her arms and laughed in triumph, while the crowd chanted, 'Hoeski! Hoeski! Hoeski!'

"SHUT UP!" she screamed, before both she and Dolph began setting the table upright on the side of the ring. AJ slowly began getting up, and once Eve saw this, she sped towards her, her arm outstretched for a clothesline, but AJ ducked, and got her revenge on the Latina with a backpack stunner. The brunette was about to execute her next move, but Eve countered with with a devastating sitout face buster. AJ struggled to get up and crawled towards Alex, who helped her up, combed back her hair, and asked, "Are you ok?"

She nodded, but neither of them saw Eve running for them, forcefully shoving AJ, who in turn, bumped into Alex, who crashed into the barricades. "Oh my God, Alex, are you ok?" the tiny Diva asked, worried. He nodded and held the back of his head, but then since he was down, Dolph had the chance to step in, smirking all the way. Eve threw AJ into the ring, and both she and Ziggler followed. The Latina instructed for Dolph to hold her down, and he did just that by hooking her arms back. AJ struggled to break free, but couldn't once Eve took the golden opportunity to slap her across the face.

"You think you're better than me? HUH?" the Latina screamed, Irish whipping her HARD across the chest. The smaller woman yelled with each whip that Eve gave her, and Eve finished it all off by connecting the bottom of her boot to AJ's neck. The Diva struggled to breathe, kicking her legs and using all she could to get Eve's foot off of her, but when she was beginning to lose hope, Alex slid in and took Dolph out with a neck snap. Once he rolled out of the ring, Shelley was pissed that his girlfriend was senselessly attacked, so he gave Ziggler a good beating consisting of single knee face breaker and a push up face buster, eliciting more cheers from the crowd.

Back in the ring, AJ tackled Eve down once more and began another beating, slamming the Latina's head into the canvas in pure rage, and then mimicked Alex by performing a push up facebuster of her own, gaining some cheers and wolf whistles from the male fans. Next, she slid out of the ring, went behind the announce table, and grabbed a steel chair, before sliding back into the ring. The angry Diva held up the chair and ran for Eve, and as soon as the Latina saw the oncoming danger, she gasped and dodged just in time. With some quick thinking, she then performed a dropkick, kicking the chair out of AJ's hands.

The brunette hissed a little, holding her aching wrist. Torres didn't care, though. She took the advantage by grabbing the steel chair and then rammed it into AJ's abdomen. The Jersey native yelled, collapsed to the ground, and held her stomach in pain. Eve had no remorse and continued the attack with a couple of chair shots to the younger Diva's back. It took a few moments for AJ to recover, but fortunately, Alex was there. He looked under the ring and found a kendo stick, sliding it to his girlfriend without Eve noticing.

Through her pain, she smiled, and once Eve turned back to her, she had no time to react once the next thing she saw was the kendo stick being rammed into her midsection. Now she crumpled to the ground in pain, and AJ took the advantage. Rolling out of the ring and taking Eve with her, she led her towards the ramp and then had her own little evil smirk once she tossed her enemy right into the steel barricades. Eve screamed out in agony, but AJ thrived from this and repeated her actions by tossing the defenseless Latina right across the ramp and towards the opposite set of barricades. Once again, the fans were red hot at this and cheered, "AJ! AJ! AJ! AJ!"

She took in the energy from the fans and kicked the Colorado native in the gut repeatedly, to more cheers. Eve still had some fight in her, though, and took the tiny Diva down by kicking the back of her leg. The Latina slowly got up as did AJ, and once more the women traded punches as they made their way back to the ring. Once they both rolled into the squared circle, AJ stopped Eve in her tracks with a springboard into a back elbow smash, sending Eve down for a few moments. After this, AJ took a chance to set up a steel chair into the corner ringpost.

Once that was done, she approached Eve and was about to swing her towards it, but Eve skidded to a stop and tried to swing AJ into her own trap instead, but the younger Diva skidded to a stop just in time, too. Next, Dolph tried to distract AJ by undoing the steel chair from its place, before the brunette snatched the chair from him, but had no idea that Alex was behind her, about to come to her defense. Then, she accidentally whacked the chair back. She meant to attack Ziggler, but the chair ended up smacking Shelley down instead. April whipped around and saw the damage that she'd done and rushed to her boyfriend. "Alex! Alex, are you all right? Oh God, I'm so, so sorry!"

Although he had a bad headache at the moment, he shook it off and sat up, saying, "I'm fine, babe, I'm fine." But then saw Eve holding up the steel chair with another sadistic smirk on her face. "April, behind you!"

She turned back around and both she and Alex quickly rolled out of the way, just missing the chair shot. Dolph felt that he seriously needed to take Alex out of the equation, so he rushed over to his side and tackled him down, just missing the table there. Next, Alex had a great idea, and so did AJ. First, Shelley gave Ziggler a few rough punches and tried to take him down, but Ziggler got the upper hand and shoved him back. Where he landed, he peeked under the ring and saw a fire extinguisher for his girlfriend to use next.

In the ring, Eve managed to counter and held AJ in a boston crab. The tiny Diva yelled in agony, but although she tried to reach the ropes, it seemed that there was no use. Right then and there, Alex slid the fire extinguisher towards his girlfriend without Eve seeing. She smiled a little at this, pointed the nozzle of the container upwards, and pulled the trigger, sending a cloud of smoke right into Eve's eyes. The Latina screamed, immediately let go, and it was all downhill from there. For good measure, AJ whacked the heavy extinguisher towards Eve and she fell to the ground.

Now disorientated and dizzy, Eve could barely stand up, so AJ pulled her up and hooked her arm under her neck, and performed the finisher that Alex had taught her, the Sliced Bread #2. Slamming Eve to the canvas, Alex applauded how April had nailed it and she smiled back. She went for the pin, but shockingly, Eve kicked out at 2 and a half. Time for plan B. Torres tried to get in some offensive, but was too dizzy to do anything much. Dolph tried to step in and help his ally, when Alex stopped him and took him out with a modified Sliced Bread #2 of his own.

With Ziggler now out of it, he laid him out onto the wooden table and waited for AJ to do her part. In the ring, both she and Eve climbed onto the top turnbuckle and traded punches, but before AJ could be taken out, she shoved Eve off of the turnbuckles, she landed onto Dolph, and their combined weight crashed them both through the table at once!

The crowd was going absolutely nuts at this, and once the ref checked over Eve, he saw that she was unable to finish the match, so he called for the bell, and the Guns' theme music blasted through the arena when Lillian called, "Here is your winner, AJ!"

While the fans cheered for the Diva and what an excellent match they'd just witnessed, a bright and triumphant smile grew on her face once Alex grinned and hugged her tightly from behind. She was elated to have won. She finally showed Eve who the better of the two was, and most importantly, she didn't lose Alex to that witch of a woman. Battered and exhausted, AJ smiled once she gazed at Alex and pulled him down for an incredible kiss, and he handed her her Tag title and raised her arm in victory. Eve? Well, she was going to be in one hell of a lot of pain for the next few days.

* * *

Backstage after the match...

Alex carried an exhausted AJ on his back as they made their way into the Guns' locker room.

"Ladies and gentlemen, our winner." Alex announced, letting her down.

"Oh, my God, that was one of the most insane matches I've ever seen, but I'm so glad that you won!" Mickie exclaimed, wrapping her in a hug.

Chris hugged her next and playfully tassled her hair. "You gave Eve one hell of an ass kicking and brought Alex back to us, too. Great f-ing work out there, little sis."

The tiny Diva giggled. "Thanks, you guys! But I couldn't have done any of this without Alex's help, too." she smiled, turning to him. "I'm sorry that you got a little banged up out there, babe."

"Aw, no harm, no foul." he smiled back. "I had a feeling that Eve would bring someone from her looney little group, so I had to take action to make sure that they wouldn't cost you the win. And now, I get to stay with you forever."

AJ giggled happily and gave him another kiss. "I am so happy to hear that. I love you."

"I love you, too." he replied, kissing her again.

"So, to celebrate this momentous occasion, you guys want us to take you out somewhere?" asked Mickie.

"Hmm...that'd be nice, but I am exhausted and aching all over. That was the most brutal match I've ever been a part of in my entire career, so all I want to do is to take a nice, relaxing soak in the tub back at the hotel." she announced. "I just wish I had some more of my special bath salts."

"Oh, the other day when I took Velvet shopping, I got your two favorites - Springtime Meadow and Lavender Breeze." announced Chris.

The tiny Diva said in a whisper, "Awesome. Thanks, Chris, now come on, Alex let's get home! Lavender Breeze, take me away!" she cheered, running out of the room. _"OW! I stubbed my foot again!"_ she cried out in the hall.

Alex shot Chris a look.

"...What?" he demanded.

"What business do you have buying my girlfriend bath salts?" Shelley demanded, crossing his arms.

"Uh...I was at the store and I figured that I get them while I was there...?" Sabin said slowly, as if the answer was obvious.

Alex huffed and pointed two of his fingers towards his eyes before pointing them towards Chris's. Then, he left.

"...What the hell was that about?" Chris demanded.

"Number one rule, hun. Never buy another guy's woman bath salts." Mickie said, patting his back. "Let's go."


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

The next day was Monday, and earlier that day, Johnny Ace demanded another meeting after the train wreck that had happened at Extreme Rules.

Beth, Nattie, Jack, and Dave were already there, patiently waiting on the last two members of their group to arrive. Ace was looking pretty pissed, impatiently tapping a pen on his desk, while David Otunga sipped - well, slurped his coffee while standing in a corner. With a slurp heard every other second, Batista snatched his thermos and stomped on it.

"Sorry." he said flatly.

Next, a VERY sore Dolph arrived, followed by a distraught Eve who decided to wear sunglasses inside.

"Sorry we're late, sir." Dolph groaned, gently easing himself into the chair. "Ow."

Eve said nothing and crossed her arms, looking down, while Natalya glanced at her with a triumphant smirk on her face.

"Ok, now that we're all here...WHAT the HELL happened last night?" Laurinitis demanded. "Victory was supposed to go to us last night, but Dolph, Eve, you two LET those Guns take the advantage and win!"

"Excuse me, sir, we didn't LET them do anything! I was supposed to win Alex over to our side, but-but-DOLPH distracted me the whole time!" Eve sold him out.

He shot her a look. "WHAT? Distracted you? I was out there to help you!" he snapped. "How dare you try and throw me under the bus when you KNEW that you couldn't get the job done yourself?"

"I DO know that I could've handled it myself! But YOU were the one who decided to come out there with me, going off about how sure you were that I was gonna win this." Eve continued. "This was all your fault, Dolph!"

"How dare you place the blame on me? Who began this little alliance? I DID! You just happened to waltz in here and make this group all about you, Princess!" Dolph spat back.

"I am trying to HELP this group grow into something fantastic and get rid of your little rivals once again!" Eve cried, standing up. "I've made sacrifices for this alliance!" she raised her sunglasses to reveal a black eye. "LOOK AT THIS! That little twerp ended up doing THIS to my beautiful face! I never would've even gone through with the match if I knew that it wouldn't benefit the team!"

"Oh PLEASE, stop with the sob story, you pathetic little drama queen!" Nattie spoke up. "I knew that you were trouble from Day One! I'm glad that you got your ass kicked because that just shows that you don't have what it takes to hang with us."

Beth added, "Nattie's right. See, the women in this alliance are known to be pin up strong and undefeatable. You let someone smaller than you defeat you, Eve, and that shows a lot about you."

The Latina gasped. "Oh wow, are you ALL trying to turn on me now? How about you, Jack? You turning on me, too?"

"Look, I haven't said a single word during any of these meetings." he said flatly. "I just want a title shot."

She turned to Dave. "How about you, Dave? What do you think of me?" she demanded.

He smirked. "I think you're hot." he shrugged.

"Ugh! Mr. Ace, please forget about them. I KNOW that I have what it takes to be in this group, you have to believe in me!" Eve pleaded. "What about People Power? Remember? You have to give me another chance."

He pondered over this and nodded. "Ok. Maybe last night was just a setback. I see potential in you, Eve, and I'm sure in due time, everyone else in here will, too."

"NO, WE WON'T!" Dolph and Eve said at the same time.

"LOOK, until I say otherwise, Eve will remain a part of this alliance, case closed. Otunga, get me a beer." Johnny announced. "Now, none of you disturb me for the next 20 minutes. I have a very important phone call to make."

"Thank you sir, I promise that I won't let you down." Eve smirked evilly, with glares from her allies.

"Well, you had your chance, Eve, but now it's my turn to come up with the next plan." announced Dolph.

"What's that?" asked Beth.

"You know that hot blonde that the Guns are tagging along with?"

"Yeah, I think her name's Velvet Sky." Dave announced. "I'd bed her."

"How do you know her name?" asked Jack.

"I did some snooping around. Turns out that her ex-boyfriend is Sabin, and I know that she's coming in between him and Mickie." he announced.

"Mmhmm." Dolph nodded. "This could have many advantages for us. Guys, I think we oughta pay little Velvet a visit later today."

* * *

Later that night, the Raw crew headed to the newest arena for a new episode. Velvet decided that she was tired of staying alone at the hotel, so she begged to come along. Mickie wasn't too thrilled, but Chris replied that they had no choice. Now, the gang were in the Guns' locker room...

"Great job on your match last night, AJ. I heard that you gave Eve one hell of a beatdown." Velvet told her.

"Thanks, I still have the scars to prove it." she replied. "But I gotta work through the pain since Mickie and I have another match tonight."

"Hey, I'll do the rough stuff, you finish em off. You deserve a little break." Mickie told her.

"No, Micks, we're partners! I'm not going to slack off just because I have a few bruises. Plus, I want to show Eve that I'm better than her in every way." she giggled.

"That is absolutely right, April." Alex smiled, giving her a kiss. "But if you're still hurting after the match, I'll make sure to give you that massage that you love so much."

"Hooray." she smiled, lacing her hand with his.

"What a trooper." Chris said, playfully tassling her hair once again.

"Stop doing that, it took me forever to make it look perfect." AJ smirked, smoothing out her hair.

"Aw, I'm your unofficial big brother, so I'm obligated to do these kind of things." smirked the Detroit native.

Velvet couldn't help but to smile and mindlessly twirl a strand of hair as she watched the scene. She remembered how Chris used to act just as playful towards her, and she realized how much she missed that. Her little daydreaming session was ruined, though, once Mickie spoke up.

"Well, Chris, you are such a sweet unofficial big brother to April, but you are an even better boyfriend to me."

Sabin smiled and wrapped her in a kiss, while Velvet silently fumed and turned her head. "Glad to know that I please everyone." he announced.

Alex chuckled. "That sounds so wrong in a way."

"Damn it, dude, why do you have to twist around everything I say and make it sound like filth? Why?" Chris snapped.

"Settle down, wussy." he smirked.

"No!"

The girls laughed.

"Well, you two continue on your Man-Date once again, while AJ and I head off for our match. Ready to go?" she asked.

"Sure thing. Later, Sabin." April told Chris, tassling his hair in return. "Later, Shells." she smiled towards her boyfriend.

"See you in a few, babe." he nodded, wrapping her in a kiss.

"Bye, Alex." Mickie said, hugging him and then turned to Chris and kissed him again. "Bye, Chrismeister."

"See ya after you win." he smiled.

"AJ, Mickie, good luck in your match." Velvet spoke up with a small smile.

AJ flashed her a smile in return while Mickie half turned back to look at her.

"Thanks, Vel! See ya guys in a few!" April waved, heading out with her tag team partner.

"...So looks like Mickie still hates me. I'm used to it by now." Velvet announced, crossing her arms. To be honest, she didn't really give a damn what Mickie thought about her, though.

"Aw, come on Vel, she does not hate you." Chris reasoned with her.

"Yeah, I thought that since you two weren't lashing out at one another anymore, that things were all right." agreed Alex.

"Look guys, it doesn't matter. Words were said, feelings were hurt, it's all over and finished with now. Maybe...Maybe I just shouldn't have decided to come here in the first place." the blonde shook her head.

"Jamie, stop." Chris told her. Both she and Alex were shocked, since he rarely ever called her by her real name. "Look, when I heard about you coming to hang with us at first, I wasn't thrilled one bit. I was pissed off and I was ready to rip my own hair out. But now, we've become the friends that we once were and I'm...glad that you came back."

She smiled brightly. "Chris..."

"Now hopefully this feud with you and Mickie will be an afterthought and we can all just get along and have fun like we used to. Ok...Creature?" he smirked.

The blonde laughed. "We'll see what happens. But thanks for saying what you said...Thing." she called him back.

He laughed.

"Ah, you kids never change!" Alex announced. "But since we have a little while before our match, wanna go and try to persuade Punk into giving us some of his Pepsis?"

"Fine, but you're knocking on his door first. I don't want to get whacked in the head with one of those cans again. He's so damned hostile." Chris shook his head.

"All right then, you wimp! You gonna be all right here on your own, Vel?" asked Shelley.

"Sure thing."

"Ok, we'll be back in a sec." Chris told her, closing the door.

With everyone gone, Velvet noticed Chris's bag and curiously decided to check out what was inside. A little smile grew on her face once she saw his phone, and wanted to see what pictures he had stored on it. The blonde saw a few pictures of both he and Alex goofing off, some of him and AJ, a couple with he and a few of his other friends, but her smile faded once she saw a truckload of pictures of Mickie, and her expression fell completely once she saw pictures of the happy and smiling couple. Shockingly to her, she felt tears threatening to spill over her face, and then noticed that there were two more pictures left on the phone. She scrolled over, and to her astonishment, saw one with a picture of herself from a few years ago, and the last one showed a pic of Chris kissing Velvet on the cheek with her beaming like a schoolgirl, back when they were still together.

She slowly put the phone back in the bag and couldn't take her eyes off of it. Was this for real? Did Chris really still care for her? These thoughts ran through her head, but then dismissed them. Maybe he just happened to still have those two photos and forgot to delete them. Soon after that, though, the doorknob rattled and her hand immediately left the bag. Instead of the Guns coming in though, Dave, Dolph, and Jack intruded instead.

"Um...can I help you guys?" she asked slowly.

"Hey, Velvet, how's it going?" Dolph asked casually.

"Hi..." she said slowly. "Who are you people and what are you doing in here?"

"What, beautiful, we're not allowed to pay a nice little visit to someone who's really not supposed to be here?" asked Jack.

"Look, if this is about me being from the rival company-" she began.

"No, that's not it. The guys and I've just happened to see you around for the last couple of months and were all wondering the same thing - what is a super attractive vixen like you with such a killer body doing in here all alone...unsupervised?" asked Dave, moving even closer to her.

Now, she was beginning to get scared. "Look, I don't know who the hell you are, but you all need to get the hell out of here. Now!"

"Who's gonna stop us? We're the only ones in here!" Dave continued, advancing on her, with Dolph and Jack close behind. The blonde backed away, and accidentally bumped her injured leg onto the bunch. "OW!" she cried.

"Oh, you better watch your leg, sweetums. Don't want to hinder your recovery." Dolph said.

"Please...leave me alone, my friends will be back in here in any second!" she cried.

"Oh, do you mean those Guns? Please, they couldn't even make us flinch." Jack said surely.

"They could kick your asses and you know it." she said with venom in her voice.

"Look, the point is, they're not here, and we are. And Velvet..." Dave began, running a hand up her leg. "Just imagine all the fun the three of us could have with you in a locked bedroom."

This was getting too much for her. The blonde slapped his hand away and screamed, "GET AWAY FROM ME!"

Before any of them could do anything, Velvet grabbed her crutches and escaped the room as fast as she could. The Knockout sped through the halls, everyone and everything becoming a total blur to her. Finally, she dropped her crutches and kneeled to the ground, sobbing her eyes out. Near where she was, Alex and Chris were just leaving Punk's room. The two were laughing, but as soon as they saw their friend on the ground sobbing, their expressions changed to worry and the two sped to her aid.

"Velvet!" cried Alex.

"Vel, you ok? What happened?" Chris asked, placing his hands on her trembling shoulders.

"These-these guys...they tried to hit on me! They were talking dirty to me and one of them put his hands on my leg and..." she was cut off, sobbing.

"Hey, hey, Jamie, it's ok, it's ok." Sabin said calmly, running a hand up and down her back.

"Vel, what guys are you talking about? How many of them were there?" asked Alex.

She tried to find her voice. "Uh...there were three of them. Two of them were blonde, uh, one had a lisp when he spoke, and the third one was taller, more muscular, had tattoos on his arms. He was the one who touched me." she explained.

Alex and Chris looked at her before turning to one another, knowing exactly who she was talking about.

"Dave, Dolph, and Jack." announced Shelley.

"Those bastards." Sabin muttered. "Are they still in there? I'm gonna KILL em!"

"Chris, Chris, you just stay here and take care of Vel, I'll go and see, all right?" Alex announced, heading off.

Sabin knew that he was going to get revenge on Dave and the boys for this, but he brushed aside his anger to comfort Velvet instead. "You gonna be all right?"

She sniffled. "Yeah. I just don't want to be left alone in there again."

"This was my fault. We shouldn't have left you alone in there to begin with, Jamie, I'm so sorry." he said with genuine concern. "God knows what would've happened if you never ran outta there."

"Well I did and I'm glad that I ran into you guys." she replied, gazing into his blue eyes while he gazed into her brown ones. The ones that were so similar, yet so different than his girlfriend's.

Speaking of who, Mickie and AJ had returned backstage from their match, and Mickie searched for Chris...until she caught him holding Velvet in an embrace. Her features softened as she overheard Chris tell her, "Don't worry, I promise that I won't let em hurt you again."

What the hell just happened here? Mickie was definitely going to have a serious word with him as soon as they got back home.


	12. Chapter 12

**_AN: Some of this chapter's for Mature audiences only. Had to repost this chapter and edit some stuff so FanFiction won't bother me with it, should they ever catch me, lol._  
**

* * *

**Chapter 12**

Later that evening, Mickie had returned to the hotel to see just what the hell was up with her boyfriend...

"Chris!" she called, almost slamming the door behind her. "Chris, are you home?"

_"Just a sec!"_ he called from another room.

"This can't wait, Chris, this is important. I really have to talk to you."

A few moments later, Sabin joined his girlfriend in the living room. "Sorry, babe, I was a little busy. What's up?"

"Back at the arena, I saw-" she began, but froze once she saw a towel clad Velvet approach Chris from behind.

"Chris, what's-Oh, hi, Mickie." she said, a little surprised.

"Uh, Mickie, this isn't what it looks like." Chris reasoned.

The Diva was having none of it. "What the hell is going on in here?" she asked quietly.

"Babe, it is NOT what it looks like, I swear!" he repeated. "Hear me out. Velvet was just finished taking a soak in the tub, and she needed me to help her get out without slipping or falling. That's it."

"Oh, really?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"YES, really." Chris replied, a little hurt that she didn't believe him.

"So you want me to think that you were HELPING her get out of the tub. How do I know that she didn't call you in there just to get you to see her without any clothes on?" asked Mickie.

"Excuse me, Mickie! I really DID need Chris's help! With my leg, there's no way that I could've gotten out of the tub myself without hurting my leg even further." Velvet demanded, standing up for herself.

"Save it, Vel. Listen to me, Chris. I think that your 'help' with Velvet here's going way too far. And you, Miss Sky, I suggest that you find somebody else to help you, because Chris is MY boyfriend. Not yours anymore." she said with venom in her voice.

The blonde generally looked hurt, but before she could reply, Chris stepped up and said, "Wait, wait, wait. Mickie, YOU were the one who urged us so bad to get along in the first place, and now that we're friends again, you-you don't want us to talk anymore?"

"This goes beyond just talking, Chris. Don't you get it? She asks YOU for help and NOBODY else! She is trying to take you for herself, KNOWING that you're with me." the Diva explained. "She's taking things with you way too far, Chris."

The Detroit native couldn't believe that all this was coming from his girlfriend, but then Velvet announced, "You know what, if I'm such a problem, then I'll just go and find a flight back home, all right? Thanks for everything, Chris."

"Jamie, no. You don't have to go anywhere." Chris stopped her.

Shocked that Chris had just defended her, Mickie scoffed, glared at the two of them, and stormed out of the room.

"Aw, damn it. Mickie!" Chris called after her.

"You better go after her." Velvet told him.

"Yeah, I will. Be back in a sec." he rushed out. He didn't have to look for her, since he caught her storming down the hall. "Mickie, will you please stop and listen to me?"

"No." she called back, not looking back at him. "I have to leave you and _Jamie _alone, don't I? I'm going to find someone to bunk with for the night."

He ran to catch up with her. "Do you know how childish you're acting right now? God, I try to do a good deed for someone and you go and tear my head off about it!" he cried.

"Look, don't let me stop you, ok?" she said flatly. "Do whatever the hell you want to."

"You know what, this jealousy of yours is SUCH a huge turn off. I know that you're better than that, Mickie. And the worst of it is, you're accusing me of crap that I didn't even do! You're totally jumping to conclusions without even knowing what's really up."

"Come on, Chris, you and I both know that this is all Velvet's fault! She's trying to get her claws into you! How do we know that her leg's really injured? She could've been faking it the entire time just to get you to herself." the Diva suggested.

"Knock it off, Mickie, how could you even say such a thing? Of course she's hurt, why would she want to hurt her wrestling career like this if she 'intentionally' did it?" he asked.

"All right, then answer me this question. Earlier tonight, I come back from my match, looking for you. But instead, why do I find you hugging Velvet and telling her that you'll never let whoever it is bother her again?"

He sighed. "You really want to know? Earlier, Dave, Dolph, and Jack all tried to hit on her at the same time. She was traumatized, who knows what the hell they would've done to her? She's my friend again, Mickie, and I'm going to be there to make up for lost time. She's pretty much defenseless right now, and I want to be the one to help her out."

She nodded coolly. "All right. If you care for her so much, then go ahead and sleep with her."

His eyes widened. "..._What?_" he demanded.

"You heard me."

"Mickie, come on, you can't be serious right now."

"I'm dead serious."

"I'm in love with you, I'm not sleeping with her!"

"Enough, Chris, I'm done. Consider us done until Velvet's out of the picture, all right?" she said, walking off without even turning back.

The Detroit native was about to go after her, but was too pissed at her to do so. Finally, he shook his head and stormed back into the gang's hotel room. Velvet looked up at the sound of the slamming door. "Chris? Everything ok?" she asked, getting up.

"No. I think that Mickie and I just broke up." he said, distant.

"Oh, Chris, I'm so sorry. She was just totally overreacting about the whole situation, that's all."

"I just wish she believed me." replied Sabin.

"It's gonna be ok. No matter what happens, I'll be here for you." the blonde smiled, taking his hands. "Just like you were here for me."

The Detroit native couldn't help but to chuckle. "Wow. What the hell happened to us? Just seems like yesterday we were each other's worst enemies."

She giggled. "I have no idea, but I'm really glad that this is all behind us now."

"Me, too."

Soon after that, the two stood, lost in the moment, as they admired one another. Without saying a word, Velvet smiled as she leaned in to give her ex-flame a soft, but lasting kiss. There was no doubt that Chris had felt that same spark that he did when he last kissed her years ago, but he also couldn't get Mickie out of his head. "Jamie, no. I'm still in love with someone else." he announced.

Her eyes burned into his. "Mickie's the one who led you back here, isn't she?" she asked surely.

That was too true. Besides, Mickie broke up with HIM and gave him her blessing to go and do whatever he wanted, so to hell with it. Chris pulled her face to his and wrapped her in a more passionate kiss, with the blonde not pulling away anytime soon. Her fingers grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him closer to her, and soon enough, the two made their way into the bedroom.

* * *

Chris's hands moved to her waist, pulling her closer to him, and then moved to her ass, giving it a squeeze. She yelped at this, eliciting a chuckle from the Detroit native. Careful of her leg, he lifted her into his arms and gently placed her onto the bed and slowly crawled over her. Velvet was elated that this was finally happening to her. He gave her a lustful look before brushing away a strand of her hair and leaned in to give her another kiss. Her arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him closer to her, and she could clearly tell that he was just as turned on as she was due to feeling the growing bulge in his jeans against her inner thigh.

The intensity in Chris grew even more once he reached up and swiftly removed his shirt, carelessly tossing it to the side. He reached back down to make out with the blonde below him, before they both rolled over so that she was on top of him. Velvet had never fully gotten dressed after her shower, so she slipped off her robe to reveal a blue laced bra and panties. After tossing the robe to the side, Sabin gazed at her womanly charms before reluctantly reaching up to grab them.

The Knockout smiled at his timidness before forcefully placing his hands over her chest, making sure that he was getting the same satisfaction that she was currently feeling. Chris smirked at this and gained his confidence once again, going one step further and reaching back to unhook her bra, letting it fall to the side. He grabbed her mounds again and ran his thumbs over them, drawing out a small moan from the blonde above him. The Detroit native pulled her down and ran his tongue over her mounds, causing her to cry out, "Oh yes, Chris..."

Soon after that, they locked lips again before she lifted herself back up to undo his belt and slipped off his jeans. The blonde vixen flashed him a seductive smile before trailing a tongue down his toned chest and rock hard abs. Her hand teasingly snaked into his boxers and suddenly grabbed onto his member, causing his eyes to widen a little bit. Velvet slid off his shorts completely and enveloped her mouth around his length, bobbing her head up and down as the pleasure intensified. He groaned and grabbed a handful of her hair as he was being taken to new heights, and remembered just how good she was with her tongue from back in the day when they were still dating. Soon enough, he was reaching his breaking point and yelled Velvet's name in surrender, unloading everything he had into Velvet's waiting mouth.

She grinned at this and reached up to wrap her lover in another kiss. Next, Chris felt that he had to repay her, so he turned her over so that she was on her back and he hovered over her, and slowly slid off her panties to see just how wet she was. His lust filled blue eyes looked up at her again before roaming his tongue over her center. The blonde tossed her head back and yelled out a slur of curses as he continued bringing her over the edge. Moments later, he became too much for her and she was forced to scream out his name in return.

After that, he hovered over her body once again and the two crashed into another kiss, before he spread open her legs. Without saying a word, he looked at his lover as if to say, 'You better thank me for this', and she smiled back at him as if to say, 'Just shut up and screw me.' Minding her injured leg, the Detroit native grabbed onto her waist and wasted no time in entering her, not looking back as he drilled himself into her. Velvet's cries of satisfaction intensified while he almost violently increased his thrusts. She couldn't help but to smile since he remembered how rough she liked it, but her smile was soon replaced with her belting out a loud scream, tightly grabbing the bedsheets.

After about 10 or so minutes, the two were rapidly reaching their breaking points. The Detroit native tightly grabbed onto the blonde's waist but jerked forward a little bit once he felt her walls contract around his length, and she screamed, "OOOHHHH, Gods, CHRIS!" she tossed her head back as her orgasm took over. He forcefully thrusted a few more times before calling back, "Ah Christ, VEL!" once he reached his breaking point next. Soon after, he collapsed onto the bed alongside her in pure exhaustion.

"Oh wow, just like old times. I forgot just how amazing you were." Velvet smiled, wrapping her arms around his waist. Chris, on the other hand suddenly felt guilty, because all he could suddenly think about was Mickie and how she decided to leave him so quickly. He sighed and turned his head the other way so that he didn't look at the blonde beside him.

"Chris, what's wrong?" she asked, noticing his expression. "Aren't you glad that we finally did this again after so long?"

"I-I don't know, Vel." was all he could say.

"Well...I'm glad. Chris, can I tell you something? Something important?" she asked.

He turned to look at her, and lightly ran his fingers through her hair. "Sure, what is it?"

"I just realized...that I'm still in love with you." she announced.

His eyes widened once again, not hearing her right. "What?"

"Chris, I love you! All throughout our fighting and ever since we broke up, I've always loved you." the blonde continued, kissing his chest. "I never stopped."

"Velvet, no. Don't say that, please." he shook his head.

"If I didn't say it now, I probably never would've. I love you."

"Vel, stop, I can't deal with this right now. We shouldn't have done what we just did."

"No, Chris, don't say that! I'm glad that we got to make love and I know that deep down, you are, too. You can't wish that this night never happened."

"You don't get it, Vel! Not too long ago, my girlfriend and I just had probably the worst fight that we ever had before, and five minutes later, I go and sleep with someone else? I feel so horrible." he sighed again.

"Ex-girlfriend, Chris. Remember? SHE was the one who ended things with you, right?" she asked.

"Mickie was just pissed, she didn't really mean what she said."

"Oh, come on, babe. You have to feel something for me. I saw the look you gave me when we were making love, like you were waiting forever for this to happen again. And even when you promised and sacrificed your time to help me out." she explained. "We've been spending so much time together lately, and we've connected again. Just like old times."

"Look, Vel. I really care about you, hell, I always did. But I'm still in love with Mickie and that's not going to change anytime soon."

Disappointment couldn't even describe the look on her face.

"And don't expect a night like this to ever happen again, but I promise that I'll still be more than happy to help you around until your leg heals." Sabin said, getting up and heading to the shower. He kissed the top of her head. "You just try and get some sleep, ok?"

Soon after that Velvet was about to head to sleep, but then she looked ahead to the front of the room to find a red light blinking on a device placed on top of the TV. She looked even closer to find a video recording camera that seemed to be watching her. "What the fuck?" she asked quietly, putting on her robe and approaching the camera. "Where the hell did this come from? Oh my God. Tell me this thing didn't record Chris and I having sex. Who the hell put this thing here? Oh God, nobody can ever see this." she said quickly, taking out the small tape inside. "I have to keep this with me. If the secret gets out, everything could be ruined." Making sure that nobody was around, she quickly slipped the tape into her purse. "Nobody has to know."


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

The next day, Alex, AJ, Chris, Mickie, and Velvet all arrived to the nearest gym for the Guns' latest workout session. Now after everything that occurred the previous night, Mickie still wasn't talking to either Velvet or Chris, Chris was too guilty to even face Mickie, and Velvet was just still worried about the explicit tape that was hiding in her purse, hoping that nobody in that room would find out about it. As for Alex and AJ, they just wanted to know what the hell was going on with everyone.

"So...this situation couldn't get any more awkward." AJ whispered to her boyfriend.

"Heh, you're telling me." Alex agreed, looking around the room. On one side of the room, Chris was busy hitting the weights, on the other side, Velvet blankly gazed towards Chris, and Mickie was in her own corner, not facing anyone and was texting to someone.

"Ever since what almost happened to Velvet last night, those three haven't spoken a word to one another." Shelley continued. "Did things come to blows at the hotel or something?"

"I have no idea." AJ shook her head. "I mean, what happened to Vel is terrible and I'm glad that she's all right, but my guess is that Mickie was jealous seeing Chris taking care of Vel, and y'know, Mickie couldn't take it anymore."

"Ouch. I had a bad feeling something like this would happen. You think we should split up and talk to em? Things have to be patched up somehow." he said.

"Good idea. You have a man-to-man talk with Chris, while I try and chat with Mickie and Vel." she smiled, lightly squeezing his arm.

"Done deal. Try not to let either of em rip your head off." he chuckled, giving her a kiss.

Soon enough, AJ approached Velvet first and sat across from her. "Hi."

The blonde took her eyes off of her crush before turning to her. "Oh, hey, AJ. What's up?" she smiled.

"Nothing much. I was just wondering what was up with you guys since everyone's so..."

"Distant?"

"Yeah. You know, anything that's on your mind, you can tell me." the tiny Diva said.

"You're so sweet. But really, it's nothing. I'm basically ruining Mickie's life and her relationship with Chris, so it's pretty much all my fault. Guess you could call me the Homewrecking bitch from Hell, huh?" she chuckled.

AJ shook her head. "Of course not. Look, I still remember what you told me that night - that you had a crush on Chris. But tell me the truth, Vel. The way you're looking at him, it's more than a crush, isn't it?" she asked. "Are you in love with him?"

The blonde nervously looked around, not sure on whether to not to reveal her secret. "AJ, swear that you can't tell anyone this."

"I swear."

"Yes, I'm in love with him." she announced. "He's my first love and even when we were broken up and hating one another, my feelings never changed. Everytime I see him kissing Mickie, I feel like my heart's ripping in two. I'm just afraid that he'll never love me in the same way that I love him."

"Wow, Vel...I don't know what to say except, what about your relationship with Mickie? Are you ever going to be friends again?" she asked.

"I want to! I mean, she's been really cool to me and really nice before she started accusing me at the time of trying to steal Chris away from her. I just don't know if I can face her again."

"You can't avoid her forever, plus, she's sitting right over there. The sooner you two talk things out, I'm sure you'll be friends again in no time!" the brunette exclaimed.

"Well...could you bring her over here? I'm not ready yet."

"Sure. Hold on a sec." she said, heading across the room to approach her best friend. Meanwhile, Chris was still busy doing a few curls with the weights, but could barely focus as he had the night of passion with Velvet still flooding his mind. Plus, the fact that his girl-EX-girlfriend was sitting just a few feet away from him, the guilt tore him away even more since he was still in love with her. His thoughts were interrupted once Alex approached him, saying, "All right, Sabin. Spill."

"What? Aw dude, you made me lose count! I was on my 199th curl!" he cried.

"The hell you were, the most you ever did was 59 and that was after you had to start over. Now I know that something's bugging you, so I want you to tell me before I slap it outta you." announced Shelley.

Knowing all too well that Alex really would slap him, he had to tell him. "All right. After the show, Velvet and I headed back to the hotel cause she needed to relax after what went down in the locker room last night. About 20 minutes later, Mickie comes in and then she sees Velvet coming out with nothing but a towel on, and automatically assumes that Vel and I were messing around." he explained.

"Ooh, then what?"

"Long story short, she totally tore into Velvet, I had to defend her, Mickie got pissed, she and I had a fight out in the hall, and she broke up with me right then and there." finished Chris.

"You two split over this?" Alex asked, raising his eyebrows. "Damn, this is worse than I thought."

"Yeah."

"So, was that all that happened?"

He definitely couldn't tell his best friend about he and Velvet having sex, so he lied and said, "Yep, that was it. Mickie went to sleep in one of her friend's hotel rooms, Velvet had the bedroom, and I felt that it was best to sleep on the couch."

"Wow. So what's gonna happen now?" asked Shelley.

"To be honest, I don't know." he said, looking towards Mickie. "Either way, I just don't want to lose her."

Meanwhile...

"...So I talked to Velvet, she told me everything that happened, and she's sorry about what happened with you and Chris. She really wants to talk to you and to try and make things right again." AJ told Mickie.

"I dunno, AJ. I just can't seem to trust her anymore, and she's just ruining things with Chris and I."

"Well, now could be your chance to fix things. And if you make up with her, you could make up with Sabin. You want that, don't you?" she asked.

She turned to look at her ex-boyfriend. "Yeah. I was thinking, and I was pretty harsh to him and he didn't even deserve it. I miss him like crazy." the Country Diva nodded.

"Ok then. Now let's have a little chat with Velvet first, and we'll deal with Chris later on." AJ said, leading Mickie towards the blonde on the other side of the room.

The two stared each other down for a few moments before AJ called, "C'mon, girls, talk! Before I get bored and leave." she smirked a little.

Velvet spoke up first. "Um...hi, Mickie."

"Hi."

"Look, about last night..."

"No, don't blame yourself. It was my fault for not listening." the Diva replied.

"No, please let me finish. This was all my fault for being all needy and stealing Chris away from you. He's yours, and I respect that. And to tell you the truth, my leg's getting better every day, so I can do more things on my own and I won't need his or anyone's help." she smiled a little. "So I'm sorry that things last night got a little out of control. Please don't break up with him over me. Chris really loves you, he told me himself."

"He-he told you that?" she asked with hope.

"Yep. He even slept on the couch last night because that's how much he missed you."

She turned back for a second to look at her ex. "That was so sweet of him. Oh man, I made a huge mistake by ending things with him, I gotta fix this...if he doesn't hate me now, that is."

"He doesn't hate you, Mickie, just go to him and tell him how you feel!" the blonde exclaimed.

"I think it might be a little too soon. I'll try tomorrow, maybe he'll be more cooled off by then. So about us, Vel..." began Mickie.

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry about everything I've said or done to you. Are we still friends?" she asked.

The blonde mustered a smile. "Of course we are. Come here." she said, wrapping the Diva in a hug.

"Yay, no more awkwardness!" AJ cheered.

"And I promise, Mickie. Things are gonna change from now on. No more intruding on your love life, I promise." Velvet finished.

"I believe you. C'mon, let's grab the guys and head outta here." Mickie announced, linking arms with her.

"Ok, I'll go and tell the guys the good news!" AJ exclaimed, running off.

"So you want to head back to the mall?" asked Velvet.

"Sure, let's just-" Mickie stopped in her tracks once she looked up to find none other than Dave Batista blocking their path. A cocky smirk grew on his face as he looked them over. "Well, well, well. Look who we have here. The corporate slut, and the corporate whore."

"You...you need to stay the hell away from us." Mickie hissed.

"Wait. You were that guy who felt me up in the locker room last night. You PIG!" Velvet snapped.

"Look, if it weren't for those crutches, I totally would've had you in bed by now. And uh, Mickie, I would've brung you along for the ride, too. A threesome between us would've been hot."

Velvet backed away while Mickie looked pissed and kicked him in the shin. "AH!" he groaned.

"Get the message, you son of a bitch. Leave us the hell alone." the Diva growled.

"You think that I'm afraid of you, squirt? You think I'm afraid of you, blondie? Look, I'm stronger, meaner, and I can surely bed you both and screw the both of your brains out." the muscular Superstar announced.

"HEY!" Chris snapped, just catching the scene, along with Alex and AJ. The younger man approached him. "You think you're so tough trying to scare two women? You think that makes you a man?"

"Oh, so are they both yours?" asked Dave. "You screwing them both, aren't ya?"

Chris was getting closer and closer to beating the hell out of him.

"Congratulations, player. We should hold a contest to see how many Divas here we can screw in the next week." he continued.

"No, screw you." Sabin replied. "All right, now I'm sick and tired of you harassing me, Mickie, and now Velvet."

"Aw, come on! With a name like Velvet, she's just screaming to be drilled!" he cried, amused.

"SHUT UP! You need to find a life and stay the hell outta ours." Chris hissed. "Now after what you and your friends did last night to her, you are going to pay. I'm sure of it."

"Oh? And just what are you gonna do, you little runt?" the older man challenged.

"Like I'm telling you. But for now, just accept this." Sabin said, flashing him the finger. "Guys, c'mon, let's go."

The five of them headed out, but Velvet didn't notice when the explicit tape slipped out of her purse! Dave looked back at the group with a sneer on his lips, but then looked down to see the tape. "Huh? What's this?" he picked it up. "Hmm. I better bring this back to the group so that they can take a gander at this."

* * *

A little while later, Dave had brung the tape to the group, and eventually, they had all witnessed what Velvet and Chris were doing in the bedroom on camera.

"Damn! Was this some type of amateur porno or something cause that Velvet chick's even hotter naked." Dolph was nearly drooling.

"I dunno, but this tape just dropped out of her purse. Wonder why she wanted to record this in the first place." said Dave.

"Oh, she didn't." Eve spoke up.

They all turned to her.

"What do you mean?" asked Natalya. "You spied on them because you don't have anything better to do with your pathetic life?"

The Latina shot her a look and then gently tapped her eye, which was still a little dark from the beating that AJ had given her in the match. "No. Earlier that night, I saw Chris consoling Velvet, and then noticed how heartbroken Mickie looked and it just dawned on me: Those two were eventually going to sleep together behind Mickie's back, so why not record it on film? So before any of them got back to the hotel, I broke in, installed the camera, left, and then let things play out on it's own. We got pretty nice results, if I say so myself." she smiled.

"Wow, Eve, that's a pretty ballsy move there, but it worked!" Beth said, impressed. "Nice job!"

"Yeah, hearts are definitely going to be broken, and we will take every advantage of it." Eve smiled. "So you boys think that I've proved my worth into the group?"

"Well, I have to admit, this is some pretty concrete evidence that we could release at any time we wanted to. Good job, Eve." said Jack.

"Whatever." Natalya said, rolling her eyes.

"Impressive, but we'll judge after the damage is done." replied Dolph.

"Uh, hold on. Could I hold onto that tape?" asked Dave.

"You? Why?" asked the Latina.

"Because, I could use this tape as leverage. Blackmail. I could tell Sabin that I know his secret, have it right here on tape, and if he wants this secret not to be revealed to the whole entire roster, he'll have to keep his mouth shut and...I'll think of something else to pin him with." the Animal smiled. "But either way, he'd be under my control, and none of his little friends could help him."


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Fast forwarding to the next Monday, the gang (minus Velvet who decided to stay at the hotel) headed to the next arena for that week's installment of Raw. All throughout the week, the guilt of sleeping with Velvet and not telling anyone about it was eating Chris alive, and what made matters worse was the fact that Mickie wanted to make amends and get back together with him. AJ and Alex knew that something was wrong with their friend, but whenever they tried to talk to him, Chris would assure them that everything was fine. Now, in their locker room...

Sabin was looking through his phone, and flipped through his photo album until he saw the last two pictures of Velvet. He couldn't help but to smile a little bit, but once Mickie approached him, he quickly shut the phone off and flashed her a smile. "Hey, Mickie. What's going on?"

"Chris, I know I've said this about a million times, but I'm sorry about the other night. I was so harsh and mean to you, and I never even got to hear you out. Could you ever forgive me?" she asked with a cute pout.

The younger man couldn't help but to laugh, and replied, "I was never really angry with you, Sweet Mickie. In fact, I want to apologize to you again for spending more time with Velvet than I did with you. Could you ever forgive ME?" he asked back with a pout.

"Well...ok." she smiled. Then, she leaned in and gave him a kiss. "I love you, Chris."

Well, the guilt just kicked in even more. "I love you too, baby." he said, trying to hide his remorse. Next, Alex and AJ joined the two, holding hands.

"Hey, kids! Looks like things are finally back to normal with our favorite horny young adults." Alex announced.

"Yep, thank God all that crap is behind us now." Mickie smiled, sitting on her boyfriend's lap.

"Well, good. Cause we just got word that you two have a tag team match together." AJ said with a smile.

The two looked at one another, surprised.

"Sweet! When do we go out?" asked the Country Diva.

"In about 15 minutes, so you two better hurry up and get changed." replied Shelley.

"Awesome! C'mon, Chrismeister, we could get each _other _changed instead." the brunette said, seductively tracing a finger down his chest. "It'll be funnn..."

"Haha, baby, I am SO there. You two, don't even think about disturbing us or else I'll bring out the paddle again." Chris told his friends, but looked directly at Alex.

"Ooh, and you know how bad it was when he attacked you with the paddle the last time you invaded their privacy, Alex." AJ smiled.

He made a face. "Chris spanked me. Repeatedly." Shelley grumbled.

"Oh Alex, shut up. You know you liked it." Chris smiled.

"No, I like it when GIRLS spank me, not YOU!" he cried.

April was giggling while Mickie said, "Ok, too much information, thanks, Alex."

"You're welcome! Have fun in your match and make us not be ashamed of you, Chris!" Alex called back, joking.

"Oh, why do you have to call ME out, dillweed, WHY?" he demanded while Mickie had to drag him out of the room.

"Haha, good luck guys!" called AJ. "Ah, I love our friends. And it looks like Chris is back to normal!"

"Normal's a pretty broad definition for him, babe. One couldn't really classify Sabin as a normal guy. At least, to me." replied Shelley, sitting the Diva on his lap. He gazed at her and continued, "You know how beautiful you are?"

She smiled and traced a finger down his jawline. "Do you know how handsome you are?" she asked back. "Oh, Alex, I'm just so glad that we never have to worry about Eve trying to steal you away from me ever again."

"Me, too. She is SO not my type, anyway. I mean, who wants some chick who wears Gucci and Prada, when I can have a woman who wears Chuck Taylors and spends endless hours defeating me in every video game known to man?" he asked, combing a hand through her hair. "You're perfect, April, and I wouldn't trade ya for all the women in the world."

"Babe..." she smiled, kissing him. "You're perfect in every way in my eyes, Shells, plus there's the fact that you LET me defeat you in those video games. I need competition, damn it." she joked. "Maybe I'll start asking Chris to compete with me, at least he'll make it a challenge."

"Don't you dare bring him into this conversation, ok? This is about you and me. Now wanna kiss me?" he asked.

"Ooh, how could I ever refuse that?" the tiny Diva smiled, locking her lips with his.

A few minutes later, Chris and Mickie's match against the Miz and Maryse was already in progress, and the two were watching from a TV in their locker room. "Um, Alex, does something seem off to you?" asked April.

"Yeah, it's like...their chemistry just isn't there tonight. Chris seems totally off his game out there." he agreed.

Out in the ring, the match was winding down and Sabin and James seemed to be getting their groove back. The Country Diva was currently in the ring with the French Bombshell, and she pretty much dominated. Mickie attacked Maryse with a rope aided twisting hurricanrana, and went for the cover, but the blonde kicked out at two. The brunette picked her back up, but before she could attack again, Maryse fought back with with a spinning backbreaker. This time, she went for the pin, but Mickie kicked out at two.

Both women slowly got back up, trading punches before Mickie once again got the advantage with a few kicks to the blonde's midsection, followed by her finisher, a standing tornado DDT. Thinking that she had this won, she went for the cover once again, but with Miz being Miz, he had to cheat to win. He broke the pin by grabbing onto the brunette's leg and pulling her out of the ring, but she stopped him by kicking him away. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" Mickie demanded to the Awesome one.

"What the hell do you think YOU'RE doing?" he snapped back. While they were arguing, Chris stepped in the ring to take out his opponent, but when Mickie once again had her eyes on Maryse, Miz slipped away and like a coward, tried to escape Chris's wrath. The two were brawling in the ring, but Miz shoved the Detroit native back, to where he bumped into Mickie. Since she thought that he was the Miz instead, she whipped around and accidentally slapped Chris in the face instead!

"OH!" cried the crowd.

The Diva gasped and cried, "Oh God, I'm so sorry!"

"Come on, Mickie, you knew that was me!" Chris cried, holding his cheek.

"No I didn't, I swear, I thought it was him-CHRIS!" Mickie cried once Miz took the advantage of a distracted Chris, finishing the former X Division star off with the Skull Crushing Finale, a full nelson facebuster. Miz went for the cover while the ref counted, "1...2...3!"

The jeers from the crowd grew while Lillian announced, "Here are your winners, the team of Maryse, and the Miz!"

The Awesome one and the French Canadian Diva both snickered in triumph as they headed off, while Mickie rushed to Chris and made sure that he was ok. Backstage, Alex and AJ saw the upset victory in the ring, and both uttered, "Uh oh."

...

A few moments later, Mickie and Chris headed backstage after their match gone horribly wrong...

"Chris, I seriously didn't know it was you behind me!" the Diva cried.

"Forget it babe, it's over. What's done is done." Sabin replied as the two returned to the gang's locker room. "So, I'm guessing that you two just witnessed the trainwreck that just happened out there?"

"Well...I-I wouldn't call it a trainwreck, would you, babe?" AJ asked nervously, twiddling her fingers in shyness.

"No, I wouldn't. It was a disaster." Shelley said flatly and blatantly. "Look, guys...what the hell was that? We know that you two are better than what we saw in the ring."

"You guys have a miscommunication or something?" she asked along.

"You know what, it was my fault for accidentally slapping Chris. I cost us the match, so I'm sorry, baby." the Country Diva said, looking up at him.

He flashed her a smile and gave her a kiss before replying, "It definitely wasn't your fault, beautiful, it was mine. I dunno, I just feel sorta out of it tonight." Chris announced.

"What? Are you sick or something?" asked Alex.

Mickie felt his forehead. "You do feel a little hot and you look pretty flushed. But then again, maybe you're just feeling exhausted from the match."

"I dunno, maybe. I think I just need to lie down for a while." he said quietly, heading to the couch.

"Chris, no, you better head back to the hotel where you can relax in a real bed." AJ stopped him, concerned for her 'older brother'.

"Yeah, just take it easy, dude. I'm sure you'll be all right after a good night's rest." Alex agreed, patting him on the shoulder.

"Thanks, you guys. I'll see you in the morning, I guess." Sabin mustered up a smile, sharing a manly handshake with Alex, hugging AJ, and giving Mickie a kiss.

"I'll meet you back home as soon as I can, sweetie." the Country Diva smiled lightly, running her fingers through his hair. "Feel better! I love you so much."

He kissed her again. "I love you too, Sweet Mickie." the Detroit native smiled before he headed off to the showers. Before he did, though, he felt his phone vibrating and stopped down a hallway to discreetly check it out. Adding more stress to Chris's already stressful day, he saw that Velvet was calling. "Damn." he muttered. Looking down, he saw a text saying:

"_Chris? Where R U? Look, I have to talk to you, could you please come back to the hotel? Hope you're all right._

_-XOXO, Velvet x3"_

"Damn it, Vel, I can't deal with this right now." he muttered, heading off. Just what the hell did she want from him now?


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Moments later, Chris arrived back to the hotel, where he was suddenly greeted by a kiss from Velvet. "Hello, handsome. I saw your match, what happened out there? That wasn't you."

"I just had a lot on my mind, Vel, ok?" he asked lifelessly, slipping off his shirt and climbing into bed. The blonde smiled and climbed into same bed, showering him with kisses and roaming a hand along his side.

"Maybe I can help make you feel all better..." she said suggestively.

He turned back to her. "Jamie, knock it off and get your hands off of me!" he snapped.

She looked a little hurt and backed off. "Chris..."

"Jamie, I am not in the mood for this, ok? I thought you had a talk with Mickie and told her that you'd stop getting so close to me."

"I did, but she's not here, Chris. We're alone in here with nobody else. Now, why don't you let me make you even more comfortable." she moved on to the waistband of his pants.

"Stop!" he snapped. "Just don't touch me, all right? I don't want to deal with this right now, I love Mickie and I always will!"

"You have to feel something for me too, Chris. I know you do, and I have proof." she replied.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"The other day, I looked at your phone's photo album and I saw that you still kept those two pictures of me." she revealed.

His eyes widened a little and was speechless.

"Now if the proof's not in the picture, then I don't know what is."

"What business do you have snooping into my phone, Velvet?" he demanded.

"I'm sorry, Chris, but I needed to know if you still cared. And I know that you do."

"Look, I'm sorry to disappoint you, Vel, but that was the past. Mickie's my present and my future, and that's the way it's gonna be. Now please, I'm really tired, can you leave me alone?"

Velvet sighed. "Chris, please-"

"And stay in your own bed. I want Mickie in here with me." he said, not facing her.

The Knockout was on the verge of tears and sniffled a little with the fact that her crush was breaking her heart. "You don't mean that, Chris, you don't." she whispered, heading into the living room to be alone. Sabin felt horrible that he had to talk to Velvet that way, but she was the cause of his stress and it was only a matter of time before he had to tell someone about the passionate night that he and his ex-flame shared.

* * *

Back at the arena...

"You guys ready to go?" Mickie asked, grabbing her bags.

"Totally. Time for a good night's sleep, I'm bushed." AJ agreed.

"Heh heh. You said 'Bush'." Alex chuckled.

The tiny Diva smirked and playfully smacked his chest. "You are so immature, Shells."

"Says the chick who watches Power Rangers every Saturday morning." he challenged her back.

"Says the dude who watches Power Rangers every Saturday morning WITH this chick." AJ replied, poking his arm.

Mickie laughed. "She got you there, Alex."

"And he really loves the Blue Ranger the best for some reason." she added.

"I do! I mean, come on, how come the Red Ranger always has to be the leader? Give the other dude a chance just for one episode, I mean, come on." he rambled on.

"You know, Alex, there are more important issues going on in the world." replied Mickie.

"Yeah, you're right...if Chris is sleeping in one of the beds and Velvet's in the other, then April and I'll be forced to sleep on the damn floor!" he snapped.

Mickie facepalmed. "You're hopeless." she sad sarcastically. "Look, let's just get home, ok? I want to make sure that Chris is all right."

"All right, let me just say goodbye to a few of the guys." Shelley said, heading off and down another hallway. As he walked, he overheard Dolph and his gang chatting about something and decided to eavesdrop. "Ooh, what are these tools up to? Nothing wrong with being a little fly on the wall." he muttered with a mischievous grin.

_"Dude, does Dave still have that tape?"_ Jack asked Dolph.

_"He better. He needs to guard that thing with his life if he wants to keep our little plan a secret from everyone else." _the bleach blonde replied.

Outside, Alex raised an eyebrow in confusion.

_"I just can't believe how well this is working in our favor!_ _We all caught Sabin screwing the hell out of that Velvet chick and poor Mickie doesn't have a damn clue." _Dolph continued.

Alex couldn't believe what he was hearing. "...What?" he muttered in disbelief.

_"We literally have all the proof in the palm of our hands. This is bound to work, and once Mickie finds out, we get to do all the comforting and consoling." _he finished. Meanwhile, Alex couldn't listen to any more of this and rushed to another hallway before the guys could catch him. "No way. No freakin' way." he said, shaking his head. "That's why Chris was acting so strange. Way to freakin' screw up, Sabin, cheat on your girlfriend. Now I'm in the middle of this crap." he muttered, heading off to join AJ and Mickie again.

* * *

So throughout the night, everyone in the Guns' hotel room were sleeping the day's events away...

_Chris tossed and turned in his bed, feeling somebody's arms wrapping around him. He couldn't help but to smile a little at this, and once the early morning sunlight peeked through the window and he felt someone kissing his neck, he began to stir awake. "Well, good morning to you, too." he muttered, turning around to find not Mickie, but Velvet beside him instead with a huge smile on her face. "Morning, handsome." she said seductively._

_..._

"Ah!" Sabin called, opening his eyes to find nothing but darkness in the room. The clock read 2:30 am. "Ok. It-It was just a nightmare." he whispered, making sure not to wake anyone. He turned around to find Mickie with her arms wrapped around his waist and smiling, looked down to see Alex and AJ sleeping on the carpet in their sleeping bag, and sighed in relief. "Just as it should be." he whispered. Then, he turned to the opposite bed to find Velvet wide eyed and still awake, clearly watching him and not taking her eyes off of him. He flashed her a quick look before turning to Mickie and wrapping his arms around the Country Diva, giving the blonde a silent message to back off.

The next morning...

"Man, I'm so pissed that I had to sleep on the damn floor last night. I'm Alex Shelley, I don't sleep on floors." he grumbled to himself, packing away the sleeping bag. "Carpet's all itchy...got rug burns everywhere...have me muttering to myself..."

Then, he calmed down once AJ approached him from behind and wrapped her arms around his waist, her hands creeping under his shirt to feel his abs. "Aw, what's got my Shells so angry?" she asked, looking up at him with a smile.

"Well, if I was angry, I'm sure as hell not anymore. Come here." he smirked, turning her around and wrapping her in an amazing kiss.

"Mmm, don't stop anytime soon, babe." she giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck before they both stumbled onto the bed, him on top of her. After a lengthy make out session, the two broke away smiling, his forehead resting over hers. "Wow, that your way of saying good morning? Can't wait to hear your Good Afternoon and Good Night." the tiny Diva smiled.

"Haha, look babe, I'm just happy to see you as I always am. Especially now." he said, sitting up.

She sat up and flashed him another smile, but saw that his eyes were telling her a different story. "Alex...is something bothering you?" she asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I can just tell, babe. Something's wrong. You wanna talk about it?" she asked, taking his hand.

The Detroit native combed her hair back and kissed her forehead. "Well, if I have to tell anyone, the best person to tell would be you. Hold on one sec." he said, looking around to make sure that nobody else was in the hotel, and locked the bedroom door behind him. He joined her on the bed again and took her hands. "Ok, you'll never believe this. Last night at the arena, when I was headed to say goodnight to the guys, I strolled by Ziggler's room and I decided to listen in on their conversation." he began.

"What'd they say? Anything stupid like usual?" she smirked.

"Haha, I wish. But uh, they mentioned Dave holding some kind of tape. What tape, I didn't know, but then they mentioned that they had to keep the tape with them for another plan of theirs." he continued.

"Plan? Oh God, no. What the hell are they trying to do to us now?" AJ asked, worried.

"It's not us they were talking about, April. It was Chris."

She raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Chris? What do they want with him?"

"I dunno, but then I heard the worst part from Dolph...they caught Chris having sex with Velvet." he revealed shamefully.

The diva gasped and looked shell shocked. "...What? Alex, are you sure you heard right?"

"Yeah, I did. I-I couldn't believe it, either." he shook his head. "That must be what's on their little tape then."

"No. No way, not Chris. Not _our _Chris." she said in disbelief. "Why would he cheat on Mickie? He loves her like crazy!"

"I dunno, but there has to be some serious explanation for this." he replied. "So that's why he's been acting so strange lately."

"The guilt was eating him alive, I suppose. Y'know, I shouldn't be so surprised from Velvet though. The night that I was still sick with the flu, she told me that she still has feelings for him. In fact, she's still in love with him. Just didn't think she'd convince him to go this far." AJ replied, lacing her fingers with Alex's.

"Wow. I just wonder what's going to happen when Mickie finds out." replied Shelley.

"She's going to be so devastated, Alex. Oh God, what are we going to do now? We both know, so should we just tell her ourselves?" she asked.

"Something tells me that it'd be better if she'd heard it from Chris himself. If he even decides to tell her." the former X Division champ told her. "But April, you can't tell anyone what I told you. This stays between us."

She nodded. "And you can't tell anyone what I told you, too. Pinkie swear?"

He smiled and linked his pinkie with hers. "I swear." Then, he sighed and lied back down with his hands folded under his head. "And the thing is, Chris told me exactly what happened that night, but didn't mention that he had slept with Velvet. I can't believe he lied to me about something this big."

The tiny Diva gave him a cute pout before lying down beside him and wrapping her arms around his waist. "I guess he was too ashamed to tell anyone, especially his best friend. But Mickie deserves to know about this somehow."

"Yeah, she-" he stopped when his phone went off. "Who's this? Aw no, it's Laurinitis."

"Ugh, what does he want?"

"Let's see. Hello?...Hey, sir, what's cracking?...Meeting?...You want me and Chris there immediately?...That important, huh?...All right, I'll grab Chris and we'll be right there." he hung up.

"What's going on, babe?" asked AJ.

"I dunno, he says that he wants Chris and I there for a very important meeting. But coming from him, I just have a bad feeling he's going to screw us over somehow." he said, getting up and slipping on his hoodie.

"Let me come with you."

"Aw, I'd love to take ya, but he just wanted Sabin and I alone. Sorries." Shelley flashed her a cute little pout of his own.

"Oh, it's okay. You know where Chris is?" she asked.

"Yep, he and Mickie are out on a little date. Hiding his little lie as if nothing had ever happened. Anyway, I'll call him and tell him on the way there."

"Ok, Shells, good luck. Hope that quack of a GM doesn't send you home upset." the Diva said, wrapping her arms around his neck.

Alex laughed. "It doesn't matter what he tells me. As long as I have you to come home to, I could never be upset with whatever he tells me. I love you." he replied, snaking his arms around her waist and pulling her closer to him.

"I love you too, Alex." she smiled, giving him a few kisses before he headed off.

* * *

About 30 minutes later, Alex picked up Chris and the two headed back to the arena that last night's Raw was held in, looking for Johnny's office.

"Dude, it's Tuesday. I still don't understand what Ace wants with us." Chris announced as their rental car stopped outside of the arena.

"Who knows? Whatever it is, it probably ain't good." Shelley replied, dull-like. "Come on, let's just get this thing over with."

Chris had noticed the irritation practically written all over his friend's face. "Dude, are you ok?"

"I'm fine, what do you mean?" he mumbled, not looking back at him.

"I dunno, you seem a little pissed at something. Want to talk about it?" asked Sabin.

He sighed and finally turned to look back at him. "Chris, remember that night where you and Mickie had that argument and you two temporarily broke up?"

"Yeah, I told you all about it. Why?"

"Are you sure you told me _everything _that happened that night? Haven't left out any important details by accident, maybe?" asked Shelley.

Chris was puzzled, but was somewhat getting the feeling that Alex was catching on to his sinful little secret. "No, Alex, I told you exactly what happened. Me and Mickie had that fight, she stormed off, and I slept on the couch. That's it." he explained.

He nodded slowly, still not believing that his best friend was still lying to his face. "So...you and Velvet didn't do anything-how should I put it-foolish?" he asked.

"Alex, are you serious right now? Don't accuse me of something that I would never dream of doing, all right? I love Mickie, and I'd never-NEVER hurt her like that." Sabin replied, looking his friend dead in the eye.

"Saying something and doing something are two different things." Alex said flatly.

Chris just glared at him. "Can we just go in now? I don't have to sit here and listen to this b.s. from you."

Alex glared back. "Fine. Let's go." he nodded, quickly getting out of the car and slamming the door after him.

...

Moments later, there was a knock on the General Manager's door.

"Come in!" Laurinitis called, writing something down and not looking up.

The Guns made themselves welcome when Chris asked, "You asked for a meeting with us, sir?"

"Ah, yes, yes, please have a seat."

Chris did what he was told and folded his hands, while Alex sent a silent look towards the GM before lazily slouching down in his chair.

"Make it worth our time, sir." Shelley announced.

"Oh, believe me, it will. You see, this past week, I've been in very important talks with someone you both know very well." he began.

"Your shrink? Yeah, we ran into Mr. Dinkle the other day and told him to give you a little chat about your wardrobe. It's not 1952 anymore grandpa, get with the times." Alex smirked.

Chris couldn't help but to laugh, while Johnny was close to yelling back, but decided to keep it cool.

"I refuse to respond to that. Now as I was saying before I was rudely interrupted, I've been talking to someone very important to you two the past week, and that person just happens to be...Dixie Carter." he announced.

The Guns' eyes widened while Chris leaned forward and Alex nearly fell back in his chair. "WHAT?" they cried.

"Wait, wait, TNA Dixie?" asked Chris. "Our former boss?"

"What does she want?" asked Alex.

"Well, seeing how popular you were over there and how popular you've become here, she gave me a phone call and asked for you two to come back to TNA." he explained, adding to their utter shock and confusion. "Now-"

"Wait, wait, wait. How are we supposed to believe a word out of your mouth? For all we know, you're probably just saying that to get rid of us like you've tried to the last time!" exclaimed Shelley, standing up.

"He's right, sir. Do you have any proof that she called you?" agreed Chris.

"You want proof? I have proof." the GM replied, speed dialing the TNA president's number on his phone. "Dixie? They're here. Tell them." he said, putting the phone on speaker.

_"Alex? Chris? Are you two there?" _she asked.

The boys were stunned at this, but Alex found his voice first and replied, "Uh, yes, Dixie, we're both here. How's it goin?"

"Yeah, long time, no see." added Chris.

_"I'm good, thanks for asking. But that's the issue. We haven't spoken in a while and on a personal level, I really miss you guys."_

"Aw, we miss you too, ma'am." Sabin replied. "So uh, what's going on here?"

_"What you may have heard from John, is right. Now don't get me wrong, I am happy at all the success you two are having over there, but just hear me out. Me and everyone over here at the Impact Zone miss the hell out of you guys. Things here just aren't the same. I'm asking you not out of business, but as a friend. Please consider coming back to where you two came from."_ the President announced.

The Guns were speechless.

_"Chris? Alex? You still there?"_

"Uh-uh, yes, ma'am, we're here." Alex replied quietly.

_"Now, you two don't have to make a decision right this minute, but just take some time to think about things and let me know your decision before it's too late. Thanks for hearing me out. Bye." _she said before hanging up.

Shelley and Sabin just looked at one another before looking down at the phone. Meanwhile, Laurinitis had looked calm and collected on the outside, but internally, he was smiling with glee. Should they choose to leave everything behind to go back to TNA, they'd be out of his hair and his so called 'People Power' would remain strong. Uh oh. He spoke up by saying, "Now you see that I wasn't lying. Now you two have to make the important decision to either stay here, or what I recommend, head back to the other company. It's your decision, and you have a few weeks to think about it. That will be all."

The boys looked at him and slowly headed out into the empty hall. Once the door was closed, Alex asked, "Great, now what are we supposed to do?"

"I got a better question: How the hell are we going to tell the girls about this?" asked Chris with a sigh. As if his problems weren't already bad enough.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Meanwhile, AJ was busy playing another game on her Gameboy SP in the hotel's bedroom, while Mickie and Velvet joined her, laughing and chatting.

"Hey, look who's happy and chatty this afternoon!" AJ smiled. "What's going on?"

"Oh, Mickie was just telling me about the time when Chris was swimming in the Chocolate fountain at the Golden Corral and almost drowned while doing it." Velvet replied with a giggle.

"Oh yeah, that was hilarious! Alex decided not to help him out by pointing and laughing, and the security guards had to drag Chris out kicking and screaming." April reminisced, chuckling.

"Ah, Sabin hasn't changed a bit." Velvet said, shaking her head. "So where are the boys again?"

"At a meeting with Laurinitis. Alex called Chris and he told him that it was important, so I hope everything's all right." Mickie said, sitting next to AJ.

"It's John Laurinitis, Mickie. The man who made all of our lives a living hell before he was thrown in jail and released again. Nothing from him could ever be all right." AJ said sadly, putting down her game. "I'm just so...worried."

"Hey, you told me everything that he did to you guys in the past. I doubt whatever he has to tell them now could be nearly as horrible." Velvet tried to stay positive.

And right then and there, Alex and Chris slowly opened the door and entered the room, looking over the three girls.

The Divas' smiles faded once they saw the downtrodden expression on the Guns' faces.

"Alex?" AJ asked quietly, getting up.

"Chris?" echoed Mickie.

"What happened during the meeting?" asked Velvet.

The two looked at one another before Alex spoke up first. "We got a call from Dixie Carter."

"Dixie? Your old boss from TNA?" asked AJ. "What did she want?"

"Uh, I don't know how to tell you this, babe...She's...asking for Chris and I to go back to Impact." it hurt him to say.

The Diva's eyes grew wide and she was speechless, while Velvet had a rather surprised, yet hopeful look on her face, and Mickie gasped, asking, "...What? I don't get it, she knows that you guys are doing great over here, so why is she asking for you back?"

"It's simple. She and the rest of the guys over there miss us." replied Chris.

"Well, what'd you tell her?" she questioned.

"We really couldn't give any answer at the moment, we were still in shock. So Laurinitis gave us a few weeks to make a decision." he answered.

"Guys, you shouldn't even have to decide. Don't you love it here?" AJ asked, specifically looking into Alex's eyes.

"Oh babe, you know we do. But still, that's the place where we really began our careers. That's where Chris and I first became a team, and we've done some really incredible things over there." he replied, taking her hands. "Plus, Dixie's a close friend of ours, and-"

"And you don't want to let her down." Mickie finished.

"Exactly."

"So uh, what are you guys going to do?" asked Velvet.

"We...we don't know." Chris replied after a long pause.

"Well, I know what I'm going to do." AJ muttered, sliding off of the bed and slipping on her hoodie.

"Wait, April, where are you going?" asked Alex.

"I-I need to be alone for a while. I'm taking a little walk around town." the Diva replied, grabbing her ipod.

"April, babe, can't you stay and we can just talk about this?"

"I just need to be alone, Alex. I need to let this news sink in. The news that the love of my life is considering leaving me behind." she said bitterly, heading out.

Shelley was hurt. "April, wait!" he called, about to go after her.

Chris held him back. "Alex, no. Just let her have some time to herself and then talk to her again when she's cooled off."

"I don't want her going off alone." he said quietly, still looking in the direction in which she left.

"Well, who could blame her for being upset?" Mickie asked, crossing her arms. "She had no idea that news like this would hit her-or me for that matter- so hard."

"Mickie, you have to understand that-" began Chris.

"Oh, I understand. I understand everything." the Country Diva said scornfully. "I might need some time to myself, too. Or you know what, I'm heading out to join AJ."

"Mickie, will you stay here and let us explain?" he demanded back.

"I'm not in the mood right now. I'll see you all later." she muttered, slamming the door behind her.

Now with only the Guns and Velvet in the room, things were pretty silent, until Alex spoke up first. "Well, THAT went so flipping well!" he cried sarcastically, throwing his arms in the air.

"Sooo...now what?" asked the blonde, kicking her good leg back and forth. "Are you guys really going to accept the deal and come back home?" She secretly wanted them to, anyway.

They turned to look at her. "We don't know, Vel, we have bigger issues to worry about. Our girls just ran out on us after refusing to hear us out, and we have Dixie's phone call hanging over our heads, so things are NOT going to be okay for a little while!" Alex snapped. "We don't know what the hell we're gonna do!"

"Jeez, all right. Sorry I asked." Velvet said quietly.

Chris approached Alex. "Dude, just calm down. Mickie and AJ are together, so they should be fine. As soon as they've cooled off, we can try and talk to em again. All right?" he asked.

"Fine. I've had a long day already, gonna take a little nap in the living room." Shelley muttered, heading off. But before he left, he smirked a little and said, "Don't you two be fooling around while I'm gone."

Chris and Velvet shot him a look.

"Wh-what are you talking about?" Velvet asked a little shakily.

"Ah, calm it down, it was just a joke. Later." he walked off, closing the door.

"Chris. Does...does Alex know?" she whispered.

"God, I hope not. I mean, earlier before we went to the meeting, Alex asked me all of these questions about what happened that night and I snapped at him for accusing me of doing such things." he replied.

"So, you didn't tell him that we slept together after that fight you had with Mickie, did you?" she asked.

"No! Of course not. But still, it seemed like he was catching on to me or something."

"But he didn't, and nobody knows what happened but us, so everything's fine." she smiled, putting her hand over his leg.

He looked at her and lightly placed his hand over hers. "Jamie, it still shouldn't have happened in the first place. It was only one night, and the only reason I even did it was because I was pissed at Mickie for leaving me so quick without listening to me."

"Like she just did now?" she pointed out.

"That's not the point, and it doesn't mean I'm going to start ripping your clothes off right now so that we can do it again." he replied. "You have absolutely no idea how keeping this secret from Mickie's tearing me apart. Every time she tells me that she loves me, I feel more and more terrible every time. She's been so amazing, she doesn't deserve being with a cheater like me."

"Look, it only happened one time, and it doesn't make you a terrible person! You're the sweetest, funniest, kindest guy I've ever met and any girl would be lucky to have you." she smiled sweetly.

He nodded a little bit. "Thanks."

"Mm hmm. So, you need to get this out of your head and start thinking about whether or not you want to come back to Impact. Now, I sure wouldn't mind seeing the Guns back over there, especially you with me again." the blonde vixen whispered, giving him a slow, but seductive kiss on the cheek before heading off. Meanwhile, Sabin was frozen where he was, touching the spot where he was kissed, and now he was even more confused about things than he was before. Should he consider going back to Impact after all?


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

In the meantime, Mickie and AJ were out, taking a nice walk through the park for what seemed like hours, trying to process the news that their boyfriends had recently given them...

Now, the two were mindlessly sitting on the swings, when AJ spoke up first, "I know that I said how I wanted to be alone, but I'm really glad that you decided to come along, Mickie. I just can't believe that all this is happening."

The Country Diva flashed her friend a smile. "Of course. I don't think I could've stayed in there, either. But yeah, how should they even consider leaving if they KNOW that they have everything they could ever want right here where they are now?"

"I don't know. But I wonder why their old boss would call them now of all times? Is it because the guys finally have the tag titles and they're pretty much unstoppable?" she asked.

"That's gotta be it, or else she would've called sooner." replied Mickie. "Hey April, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what is it?"

She absentmindedly kicked some sand while she swung. "Have you noticed if Chris has been acting a little, I dunno...strange lately?"

The Diva twiddled her fingers, already feeling guilty that she knew Chris's real secret. "Strange how?"

"Like...distant. Earlier when we were out, he barely spoke to me, and hardly made any eye contact with me."

"What?" she questioned.

"Yeah, and it's not just today, he's been like this for a while now. Ever since we had that little fight in the hall, I just don't see the real Chris anymore and I'm really worried. Did I do something wrong that I didn't even know about?"

"Micks, you did absolutely nothing wrong, ok? Whatever the hell's wrong with him, it's his issue, you had nothing to do with it. All you're trying to be is a good girlfriend." replied the tiny Diva.

Mickie nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, I've definitely been working my ass of to do that. But I still don't know what's wrong with him. Do you think that Chris is hiding something from me, maybe?"

The brunette beside her grew a little pale. "I-I think that's something you have to ask him, cause I have no idea."

"Yeah. You're right. It's getting pretty late out, wanna head back and face our soon-to-be-departed boyfriends again?" Mickie asked with a smirk.

"You know, maybe we've been a little hard on em. I mean, we kinda ran out on them before they even got a chance to explain anything. Plus, you kinda left Chris alone with Velvet." AJ said, matter-of-factly.

The perky Diva quickly stood up and grabbed her friend's hand, saying, "Let's get the hell back over there." and quickly led them both back to the hotel.

* * *

Moments later...

Alex was still lying on the couch in their hotel's living room, while AJ quietly crept inside. "Alex?" she whispered. "You awake?"

She gently touched his arm, and he began to stir awake. "Urm...April?"

"Hi." she mustered a smile, sitting next to him.

He groaned, stretching and sitting up. "Hey. So uh, does this mean that you're not pissed with me anymore?"

"I don't know about that. But I needed some time to think about what you just said. Babe, you know that I don't want you to leave." she began.

"April-"

"Please, let me finish. I also know how much Impact means to you and Chris and how that place is like home to you guys. So after a lot of thinking, I just wanted to say this. I love you too much, Alex, and all I want is for you to be happy with whatever you do, and if going back makes you happy, then who am I to stop you?" she asked, smiling though the tears streaming down her face. "Whatever you choose to do, I'll support your decision 100%."

The Detroit native was shocked to be hearing all this from someone who walked out on him just a few hours ago. "April, that's probably the sweetest thing that anyone's ever said to me. But I just got this news today, so I'm still not sure what I want to do yet. But you know what? Even if I did decide to leave, that wouldn't change how much I adore you, my little Geek Goddess. Nothing would ever change that." he replied, wiping away her tears.

"I'm happy to hear that. But you know, I wouldn't mind leaving with you. We'd have some pretty epic tag team matches in the Impact Zone, wouldn't we?" she sniffled, smiling.

"Yeah, we damn well would. But are you sure you'd want to leave all this just to tag along with little ol me?" asked Alex.

"Are you kidding? I'd leave everything behind to be with you. Besides, I've been watching Impact lately, and if ODB and Eric Young can hold the knockout's tag titles, then why couldn't we?" she smiled.

"Ok, ok, as much as I love teaming with you, that's where I draw the line! You'll never see me wearing a women's title!" he exclaimed, pouting.

"Oh come on! It'd compliment your toned and sexy waist!"

"True...no, don't try and seduce me that way, I am NOT ever wearing that thing!" he argued.

"Aw, don't be such a priss...Baby Bear." she smiled mischievously, saying the one nickname that Alex hated more than anything.

"Heh heh. April, I know that you didn't just call me that."

"Call you what? Baby Bear?" she kept grinning.

"April Jeanette Lee, I thought we established the fact that you will never speak of that name ever again." he announced.

"So? I think it's cute, Baby Bear." she giggled.

"April, I am warning you-"

"Baby Bear, Baby Bear, Baby Bear!" she taunted.

"I swear, I'm gonna murder Sabin for even telling you this. You will not mock me, April!" he cried, stopping her in her tracks by tickling her sides.

She laughed uncontrollably, trying to pry his fingers off of her. "Ok, ok, Alex, stop, knock it off! I'm sorry, all right? I'm sorry!" she choked out between giggles.

Soon after, they both began laughing, but settled down once they stared into each other's eyes. "April, I don't want to leave this. I don't want to leave any of this." he announced.

The Diva smiled. "So, have you already made your decision?"

He smiled back. "I think I have. I ain't goin' nowhere."

This news brightened up AJ's day for sure. "Oh, Alex, I love you!" she cried joyfully, wrapping her arms around him in a hug.

"I love you, too. That's exactly why I'm staying right here. But, uh, you know that things aren't for certain just yet."

"What do you mean?" she asked, puzzled.

"It's not just my decision. Chris has to decide whether we stay or go, too. "

The Diva looked back at him with concerned eyes, realizing that he was absolutely right about that possibility.

* * *

Meanwhile, Velvet was in the shower, allowing Chris and Mickie to chat about things...

"So, Mickie, I'm glad that you decided to come back and actually listen to me for once." he half joked, crossing his arms and sitting on the edge of the bed.

"I-I know. I've been walking out on you a lot lately, haven't I?" she chuckled nervously, twiddling her thumbs.

"Kinda."

"So look, we both know that I'm not happy that you possibly have to go back to Impact, but after a lot of thought, I've realized that it's your decision, so if you choose to go back...I'm willing to give up my job here in the WWE and go back to TNA with you." she announced.

Sabin blinked, not hearing her right. "Mickie, you're not serious, are you?"

"I'm dead serious, Chris. I love you way too much, and I don't want to be without you! Whatever happens, I want to be where you are and I don't want what we have to end." she pleaded. "What do you say, Chris? Please let me come with you."

"Whoa, whoa. Mickie, first of all, I haven't even decided what I want to do yet! And second, I don't want you to risk losing everything you've worked so hard for, just for me."

"Chris-"

"Please, let me say what I have to say first. I don't want you to go through so much trouble. You have too much going for you here, I mean, you're the Diva's tag champ, and I don't want to be the one responsible for you losing what you've took forever to gain back." he explained.

Meanwhile, the Country Diva sniffled, feeling hurt that he was pushing her away. "I don't get it, Chris, I just don't get it. For the last few days, you've been acting so weird, not making any eye contact with me, you've been totally quiet...and now I know why."

He froze a little. "Mickie, what are you talking about?"

"You don't want to be with me anymore, Chris, just say it!" she snapped, leaping up and facing him.

"...What?" he demanded. "Mickie, listen to yourself here, you're completely jumping to conclusions!"

"No, I'm not. I know exactly what's going on. Just hear me out here. If you choose to leave here and go back to Impact, you really don't love me at all." she announced tearfully.

"Oh come on, that's ridiculous, you know that I'm _crazy _about you!" he snapped back.

"I don't want to hear it, Chris!" she snapped, grabbing her bags.

"Oh fine, Mickie, you know what? Go! Go ahead and walk out on me like you always do! This is becoming a familiar habit of yours, isn't it?" Sabin said bitterly. He never dreamed in a million years that he'd be yelling at the one woman who he truly loved this way.

Mickie shot him a scornful look. "Oh, I can't believe you sometimes!" she snapped, storming out and slamming the door behind her.

In the living room, Alex and AJ were still enjoying each other's company, but noticed Mickie leaving the place in a huff.

"Whoa, Mickie, what happened?" asked Alex.

"Did you get a chance to talk with Chris?" asked April.

She let out a bitter chuckle. "Talk? Everytime we try to talk nowadays, it always ends up in a fight and me leaving. I'll room with Punk and Britani if they let me in." she finished, slamming the door behind her.

Puzzled, the Detroit native and the tiny Diva looked at one another. "You know, we better go and check on Chris to see if he's all right." he told her.

"Ok." AJ led the way, but stopped once she peeked through the doorway and saw Velvet coming out of the shower and in her robe. "Wait, wait. Alex, look." she whispered.

"Uh oh. This can't be good." he whispered back.

In their room, Velvet caught Chris still sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at the wall. She cautiously approached him. "Chris..." she said softly.

He didn't turn back.

"I-I kinda heard everything. Look, I'm sure that this will pass and you and Mickie will be totally happy again." she smiled a little, sitting next to him.

"Oh, stop, Vel, you know you're enjoying every second of this, aren't you?" he asked harshly.

"Hey, I would never enjoy seeing you so miserable, all right? In fact, I hate seeing you like this." she replied.

"I just don't know what's happening anymore. Mickie and I used to be like best friends, totally inseparable, and now she and I are acting how you and I used to act when we were fighting. Ironic, isn't it?" he asked with a small smirk.

"Things just happen, Chris. You can't control them. But still, Mickie should understand that this is your life here, and it's your decision if you want to head back to TNA. And y'know, maybe the move would do you some good. You'd get away from all this drama and head back to the place that you know best. Plus, I'll be there and maybe...we could start over again. Just like old times."

He finally looked up at her.

"Chris, I love you, and I promise that if we decide to start over again, we'll both be as happy as we once were." the blonde pleaded.

At first, he didn't say a word, but inside, he considered what she had told him and kind of liked the thought of getting away from all this drama he was in. Should he give Velvet another chance? He answered his own question by leaning in and wrapping the blonde in an intoxicating kiss, and Velvet was in no hurry to break away as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Once they broke away, his blue eyes gazed into her brown ones when he asked, "Jamie, you know that I still love Mickie and I always will...but is it wrong to say that I've still always been in love with you?"

The Knockout smiled brightly at this and replied, "Oh Chris...it's not wrong at all. I'm so happy to hear that from you."

And while they kissed again, Alex and AJ had heard everything and stared with wide eyed shock. She pulled him away from the door. "Can you believe this, Alex?" she demanded.

"Nope. I can't believe Chris right now, he should be going after Mickie, but instead he's making out with HER?" he snapped in a whisper.

"I just can't believe that he told Velvet that he loved her. If Mickie were in the room, I'm sure I'd hear her heart breaking." the Diva said sadly. "Alex, we have to tell her everything."

"No. As much as I want to, April, this is Chris's fault, and he should be the one to break the news to her. It's our job to just be there as her friends." he replied, placing his hands on her shoulders. "Okay?"

She nodded. "You're right. But this is going to be such a long week, I can just tell already."


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

The next day, which was a Wednesday, the Raw crew traveled to the next state for some House shows that were scheduled for the next couple of days. Tensions were high for the whole group. Mickie still isolated herself from her friends, Chris seemed to be getting closer to Velvet, but still couldn't get Mickie out of his mind, and Alex and AJ were still feeling conflicted, struggling with their decision on whether or not to tell Mickie about everything that's happened with Chris. Plus, Alex was pretty pissed off with his tag team partner for all the lies he had kept telling him. Now, one of the house shows were just about winding up, and the Guns had returned backstage from another match.

The two entered their locker room in silence, with Sabin sending a glare towards Shelley's way and vice versa. Chris spoke up first. "Well, you're looking more chipper than usual." he said sarcastically.

"Oh, pardon me, Chris, I am sorry." Alex whipped around. "But as of late, I am clearly NOT the only one with an attitude problem around here, now am I?"

"Just what the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Last night. April and I caught Mickie storming out of the hotel room, which only could have meant that you two got yourselves in another fight again."

"Look, Shelley, this is none of your business, this is between her and I." Sabin argued.

"No, Sabin, this IS my business, and it's April's business, because Mickie's our friend and we hate seeing her so hurt. And you didn't even bother to go after her!"

"She was pissed off, so me going after her only would have made things worse! Besides, I'm a little pissed at her for never hearing me out whenever I try and explain something, and just accuses me of whatever before walking out on me! I'm tired of it, Alex, ok?" Chris snapped.

"So what, instead of trying to talk to her again, you turn to Velvet?" asked Shelley.

"Hey, leave her out of this, all right?"

"No, you've been spending one hell of a lot of time with her, and it just isn't right. It's not fair to Mickie."

He let out a quiet chuckle. "Ok, you know what? I don't need you telling me how to run my own life."

Before he left, Alex stopped him. "Sabin, what the hell's going on with you? I don't know who the hell you are, or who the hell you THINK you are, but I want my best friend back."

He half turned back to look at him. "Well things have obviously changed now, Alex. Now if you can excuse me, I have to get changed."

Shelley slowly shook his head in disbelief, before he went on to finish doing what he had to do.

In the women's locker room...

Mickie angrily shoved her ring gear into her bag while AJ shyly approached her and placed her tag title down. "...Hi."

She turned to her. "Hi, AJ."

"Um...I know you're still mad, but we haven't spoken since last night and you never returned any of my texts. I'm really worried about you, Mickie." she placed a hand on her shoulder.

For the first time in hours, she flashed a smile. "I'm sorry, girlie. I just needed some time to think about everything that was going on. And just for the record, I'm fine. Punk and Britani have been taking very good care of me lately."

"Well, that's good." April smiled. "So um, what's gonna happen now between the four of us? What about Alex and Chris?"

"I have no problem with Alex, he didn't hurt me like Chris did. Last night, I offered to go to TNA with him, but he wouldn't let me! If he wants to go back there, then he just doesn't care about how I feel." the Country Diva replied.

"With all due respect, Mickie, have you given a thought about how Chris feels about all this? This is just as hard on him as it is on you."

She was quiet.

"He probably didn't want you to lose everything you've worked for over here, so he was only thinking of you."

Now, she nervously bit her lower lip.

"Chris cares about you, Mickie, and you need to stop running out on him without hearing what he has to say. That's why he's so upset."

"So what you're saying is that I'm a selfish bitch." Mickie smiled a little.

"Um..."

"Say it."

"Ok, you're being a selfish bitch, you happy now?" AJ laughed.

Mickie laughed along, but then grew serious once again. "You're right, AJ. It's my fault that Chris is acting like this, not his. You-you think he'd want to talk to me again?"

"Maybe try tomorrow. It's a little late, and I'm sure that he's exhausted from his match and wants some sleep."

"Ok. Thanks for the chat, girlie, I needed it."

"Of course! What else are BFF's for?" she hugged her. "So, wanna grab Britani and Kaitlyn and head out for a mini Girls' Night out?"

"Yes! I need one of those right about now, let's go!" she exclaimed, grabbing her hand and leading her out.

* * *

Meanwhile, after Chris had gotten showered up and changed, he was about to head out to the gang's rental car, when Dave Batista lurked around in the hall and casually called, "Yo, Sabin? Long time, no see! How's it going?"

He rolled his eyes and ignored him.

Dave stopped him by standing in his way. "Did you hear me? I asked how things were going with ya!"

Chris stared at him and blankly asked, "Will you please get the hell out of my way?"

"Aw, what's biting you, Sabin? Girl troubles? You found out that Mickie was sleeping around with someone else?" he smirked.

"You better shut the hell up and don't you dare mention Mickie, you scumbag." he hissed back.

The Animal chuckled. "Wow, you're really pissed off about something, and I...I think I know what it is!"

"What are you talking about?" he asked, annoyed.

"Let's cut the crap, all right? I know exactly what's going on with you. I just had no idea you would actually have the guts to bang Velvet, knowing that you still wanted Mickie." Dave announced, to the utter shock of Chris.

"Wha-what the hell are you talking about?" he asked, pretending to be oblivious. "I never slept with her! I have no idea where you got that from."

"Don't play dumb, Sabin. Me, Dolph, and the whole entire gang saw the proof on this little tape right here." he announced, revealing the tape. "I always pictured Velvet being a screamer in bed, I can see why you left Mickie for her."

The Detroit native growled. "I never left Mickie for anyone, first of all, and second, where the hell did you get that tape from?"

"Eve's idea, actually. She planted a video camera in your hotel room while you guys were out, knowing that you and Velvet would do something, and uh, the proof's all in the film." he explained, tossing the small item up and down and catching it into his palm. "Just imagine all the damage that could be done if this little thing gets exposed for the entire roster to see. And if Mickie sees this, she'll want nothing to do with you anymore."

"You fucking son of a bitch!" he snapped, trying to snatch the tape from him, to no avail.

"Now, now, hold on, Sunshine. I may be a douche sometimes, but I have a heart, too. I'm willing to make a deal. I won't show the contents of this tape to Mickie or anyone else...if you take the offer to go back to TNA. " he revealed.

The younger man stepped back, speechless. "No. You-You can't do that, that's blackmail!" he uttered.

"Very good, Sabin! That's exactly what this is! See, now that we understand one another, do you accept the terms of this deal?" asked Dave.

Chris frowned and could barely make eye contact with the man standing before him, but finally replied, "Looks like I don't have much of a choice, do I? Fine, I accept. ONLY if you promise to keep your word and not tell a soul about this. Am I clear?"

Dave nodded. "Clear enough. Nice doing business with ya, Sabin, and if Velvet's ever available, tell her to give me a call." he smirked, merrily strolling down the hall.

"Bastard..." Chris uttered scornfully. Things only got worse for him, knowing that his secret and his future was literally in the palm of his enemy's hand.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

Fast forwarding a few days later, it was another Monday, and things between the Guns hadn't gotten much better. Now, Chris was the one who isolated himself from his friends and only took solace in Velvet, while Alex, Mickie, and AJ all tried to reach out to him, but no success was made. Now, the three of them were in their locker room...

"So, what's the game plan for tonight?" asked AJ, lacing up her sneaker-boots.

"Well, I have a one-on-one dance with Beth later tonight and I'll need you in my corner just in case Eve the corporate whore decides to join in." Mickie replied with a smirk.

"Sweet. I already managed to give her a blackened eye once, I surely wouldn't mind doing it again." the tiny Diva smirked back. Then, she turned to Alex, who was quietly lacing up his boots with a dejected look on his face. She approached him. "Alex, sweetie? It's Chris, isn't it?" she asked, kneeling down in front of him.

He looked down at her and nodded. "I just don't know what the hell's going on with him anymore. At first, he was just acting strange, but now he's not even speaking to us, period. I miss my best friend." he sighed.

She took his hands. "And I miss my big brother." she agreed.

"And I miss my boyfriend." Mickie sighed along. "Guys, we have to sit Chris down and have a serious talk about whatever's really wrong with him."

The couple beside her nodded in agreement, but before another word was said, the door opened and there was Chris.

"Dude." Alex stood up.

He flashed them a quick smile before saying, "We've got to head back to Laurinitis's office, he wants to have a word with us."

Alex nodded and headed off, but Mickie spoke up next. "Chris, wait. We all feel that something's bothering you, and we just want to help."

"There's nothing wrong, Mickie. I'm totally fine. Now I don't have time to chat, Alex and I have to get going. See you two later." he flashed them another smile before both Guns headed off.

"Chris..." the Country Diva sighed.

"Don't worry, they'll come back soon." AJ wrapped an arm around her. "Just don't worry."

...

Soon enough, the boys were outside the GM's office and knocked on the door.

_"Come in!" _he called.

"Ok, sir, let's cut the bull and get straight to it." Alex announced, slouching in his seat while Chris patiently folded his hands. "What's going on now?"

Otunga handed Johnny a coffee. "Thank you. Now, I just wanted to remind you two that the offer with Dixie still stands, and I've wanted to tell you guys about the new match I just came up with at the next PPV, Over the Limit."

"Hoo rah." Alex said blankly.

"Ok, what are the stipulations?" asked Chris.

"Well for one thing, you will be facing Dolph Ziggler and his tag team partner Dave Batista for your Tag Team titles-"

_"WHAT?"_ Jack Swagger called from outside, bursting in the room. "How could you have Dave compete for the tag titles, I'M Dolph's partner!"

"Aw, shut your face, nobody cares about you." Shelley said blatantly.

He shot him a look before turning back to the GM. "FIX THIS!"

"I'm sorry, Jack, no can do. Dave called it first, so he's teaming with Dolph. Maybe next time for you." he replied.

"NOO!" he growled, slamming the door behind him.

"All right, that was awkward. You were saying, sir?" asked Alex.

"Right. So not only will your titles be on the line...but so will your jobs." he smirked evilly.

The two immediately leaned forward in their seats.

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Chris.

"It means, if you two lose, you will drop the titles, and you'll HAVE to go back to TNA." he continued. "Fun, right?"

"FUN? Wait, I thought Chris and I had a choice on whether we wanted to go back or not." Alex replied seriously.

"Well you get to stay here if you win. But if you don't...it'll be the end of the road here for the two of you."

"Has Dixie agreed to this?" he asked.

"Well, I can't really tell you that much, that's classified information. But that's the deal. Any questions?"

Alex stood up so fast that his chair fell over. "This is bullshit, man! You're only doing this just to get rid of us, aren't ya?" he demanded, pointing at him.

"Watch your tone, young man!" Mr. L cried.

"I'm not finished. You tried to get rid of us before, but ya failed! What, you think making us face Dolph and Dave with our titles and our jobs on the line will intimidate us?" he continued. "Well, it doesn't. Chris and I are the Motor City Machine Guns and we've beat the odds before. And we'll do the same this time. Right, Sabin?"

Chris didn't reply.

"Chris!"

"Look, win or fail, the match is finalized. You two can go now and get ready for your match later on." the GM finished.

Alex stormed out of the room first, followed by Chris. Before Sabin could say a word, Shelley turned him around and demanded, "What the hell, man?"

"What?"

"You were as quiet as a mouse in there. Why the hell didn't you back me up?"

"Alex, what was the point? Nothing that either of us could've said would possibly change his mind." Sabin replied.

"Well, you know what? I've had it. I've had it with your attitude. Chris, I know exactly why you've been acting so strange lately." he began.

"Alex, what are you talking about? Nothing's wr-"

"You've been on this whole entire guilt trip because you're ashamed to admit to anyone that you slept with Velvet." Alex announced.

Chris turned pale. "How the hell did you find out?" he asked quietly.

"I overheard Dolph and Jack talking about it. I also saw you and Velvet making out in the bedroom and sharing a few 'I love you's'. Chris, what the hell's gotten into you? Don't you even give a damn about Mickie anymore? How about me for that matter? You've lied to me since...day...one. I'm supposed to be your best friend, dude, if you couldn't have the balls to tell your girlfriend, you couldn't even have the balls to tell me?" he demanded.

"Damn it, Alex, I don't have to justify myself to you! It was my mistake, it's my problem to deal with, so just stay out of it!" Chris snapped back.

Totally in disbelief, Shelley just shook his head. "I just would've wanted to help you get through it. Guess I missed the part where you suddenly decided to hate me." he said, hurt.

Sabin sighed, immediately feeling guilty. "Alex, wait. I don't hate you, I could never hate you. You ARE my best friend, but I just couldn't tell anyone about what happened with Velvet. That's it. That's the reason why I've been acting so strange lately."

"Okay." he crossed his arms. "So when are you planning on telling Mickie?"

"I-I dunno."

"Well, how about this. Would you be happy if we'd lost our match at the next PPV? Just so we'd have to go back to TNA? That way, you wouldn't have to worry about telling poor Mickie a damn thing, now would you?" Shelley asked again.

He shrugged. "Alex, I just don't know yet, all right? I don't know. Maybe going back would be for the best."

"Oh yeah? Well what about me, Sabin, what about what I want?"

He didn't have any response.

"I, for one, don't want to even think about leaving April behind, and you know what, Sabin? If you legitimately cost us the match...I'll...I'll never forgive you for this." he uttered darkly, but before he left, Chris stopped him. "Alex, just don't, ok? And could you please not tell Mickie about Velvet and I? Please?"

The Detroit native gave him a disappointed look, shook his head, and scoffed before storming off.

* * *

Back in the locker room, AJ was showing Mickie a few of her comics, when the door opened. Instead of seeing the boys there, though, they were surprised to find Velvet. "Hey, girls, surprise, surprise!"

"Hey, Vel." April forced a smile, still upset at her for her actions with Chris.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were back at the hotel." said Mickie with a little bit of annoyance in her voice.

"I was, but I got bored over there and decided to stop by. So uh, where are the Guns?" asked the blonde.

AJ was about to reply, but then saw that Mickie suddenly had an angry look on her face. The Country Diva kept thinking about her strained relationship with Chris and almost forgot about the main factor in it - Velvet. "Oh, wouldn't you like to know?" she turned to her.

"What?"

"You just came back here to get to Chris, didn't you?"

"Mickie!"

"Let me finish. You probably already know the problems that he and I are having, and I know how you've probably been lusting over him for months now. But now, I just realized the cause of our issues: You." the Diva continued.

The blonde gasped, flabbergasted. "Where is all this coming from? I thought we all had a truce and were friends again!"

"Oh, stuff it! You're getting in between Chris and I, and you're looking to get the advantage, huh, little miss Injury Prone?" she continued.

"Well you know what? I had to calm Chris down after hearing that you walked out on him AGAIN that night! You're his problem, Mickie! You're too selfish and controlling, and Chris needs his space!" Velvet snapped back.

"Girls, please..." began AJ.

"Oh wow, so you were listening in on us from the shower? Why don't you just get a life of your own instead of prying into mine?" she yelled.

"What YOU need to do, is back off and-" the Knockout began, but froze once the three saw a pissed off Alex arrive, with a conflicted Chris close behind. They were too caught up in their news to even notice that Velvet had arrived.

"Guys?" AJ asked, standing up. "What happened?"

Alex looked at Chris before saying, "Well, Laurinitis gave us a match at the next PPV. Us against Dolph and Dave for the titles."

"That doesn't sound too bad." replied Mickie.

"But get this: If we lose, we drop the titles...and we have to leave here and go back to Impact." he announced, seeing the pain reappear in AJ's eyes.

"Alex, no...no, I thought that you guys had a choice!" she cried.

"So did I! But he changed the rules and now if we lose, we won't have any kind of say. We'd have to leave." he took her hands.

Mickie looked up towards the ceiling and sighed heavily, shaking her head, while Velvet flashed a triumphant smirk towards the Diva before turning to Chris and pursing her lips in a seductive way as if to say, 'You are all mine now.'

In the meantime, Alex saw that AJ was about to cry, so he immediately wrapped his arms around the Diva and kissed the top of her head, muttering, "There's nothing to worry about, babe. Chris and I are gonna win this match and we won't be going anywhere." he turned to Chris with a threatening look on his face while still holding his girlfriend. "I guarantee it."

Sabin rolled his eyes a bit and shook his head. Between Mickie, Velvet, and now Alex, this PPV was pretty much a lose-lose situation for him.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

The next day, Mickie decided to head to the mall for some alone time after hearing the news from the previous day. She convinced herself that Velvet was definitely the reason between hers and Chris's rift, and decided that no more games were going to be played. Since Velvet may try to convince Chris into losing the match just so that he would be back with _her_, Mickie decided that she'd fight back and make sure that her boyfriend would be safe and sound with her. The Country Diva wandered the place and pretty much did some window shopping, but then stopped to look at the window of a wedding dress store. One dress in particular had caught her eye, and she couldn't help but to think, 'Could she and Chris ever find themselves as a married couple?'...

...

_The brunette suddenly found herself wearing her dream wedding gown, looking at herself in the mirror while her bridesmaids were fixing up her hair and doing her makeup. "Perfect." Mickie concluded once her look was completed. One of the bridesmaids handed her a bouquet and said, "He's out there. You ready to become a wife?"_

_She smiled brightly. "I sure am. This wedding will be absolutely perfect."_

_Soon after, she slowly headed down the aisle and her smile grew even bigger seeing Chris waiting at the altar for her. She looked down for a moment, but as soon as she looked up again, the smile on her face immediately faded upon seeing ANOTHER bride facing him and taking his hands._

_"What the-" she uttered. "Chris! What are you doing, I'm over here!" Mickie called._

_She seemed to be invisible to him, once he lifted up the mystery bride's veil to reveal a beautifully, yet similarly dressed Velvet Sky._

_"What the hell?" Mickie uttered in absolute shock. "Chris, no, don't marry her! I'm over HERE!"_

_Despite Mickie's screams of protest, the minister began, "Jamie, do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband? To have and to hold from this day forward, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish from this day forward, till death do you part?"_

_"He's MINE, you skank!" Mickie screamed._

_The blonde smiled and tearfully replied, "I do."_

_"Chris, please, you can't marry her! Please! I'm your bride! Please don't do this!" Mickie began to cry. _

_"And Christopher, do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold from this day forward, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish from this day forward, till death do you part?" asked the minister._

_"Chris, STOP! DON'T DO IT!" Mickie screamed._

_He still had no idea of her existence, and continued smiling at Velvet. "I sure do." he announced._

_Hearing this, Mickie's heart shattered. "NO! Chris, NOO! Don't marry her, please don't marry her, please..." her words became a jumbled mess, clouded by her heavy sobs._

_"Well, by the power invested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride!" exclaimed the minister._

_The Diva kneeled to the ground, still crying her eyes out, while Velvet turned to Mickie with an evil smile and told her, "You missed your chance, Micks. You had Chris at your beck and call until I came back into town. Now, I'll be the one taking care of him and he'll be eating out of the palm of my hand. Now watch me spread the icing on the cake." _

_Right then and there, she locked her lips with Sabin's and pulled him close, while the audience cheered for the newlywed couple and Mickie stared at the scene in wide-eyed horror, screaming her lungs out in fury. "AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"_

_..._

Back in the mall, Mickie blinked a few times and tried to shake the horrible daydream out of her head. But before she could move on, she felt a pair of strong arms wrapping around her slim waist. "...Chris?" she asked, surprised.

"Surprise." he smiled.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" she asked with a light smile.

"AJ told me that you'd be here and I wanted to pay you a little visit." he replied, kissing the top of her head. "So, any reason why you're standing in front of a wedding dress store?"

"Not really, just window shopping. And thinking about what I might pick for the future."

"Ah, well I think that one over there would suit you perfectly, beautiful." he replied.

Chuckling, she turned back to him and asked, "Who are you and what have you done with Chris?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well lately, I'm used to seeing the non-talkative, gloomy Chris. What happened to you? Have a change of heart?" she continued.

"Hey, I've looked back over the past few days and weeks and realized that I've been a complete jerk to just about everyone. Especially you, and you don't deserve that. I'm sorry, Sweet Mickie."

She beamed. "Aw, Chrismeister. I wasn't any saint, either. My selfishness pretty much got on your nerves, too. I'm just as sorry."

"Apology accepted. Besides, with this big match of ours coming up, I really need to lighten up and think more positive. I've realized how much I love it here where I am, and how much I love being with you. Plus, I don't want to let Alex down or else he'll murder me in some alley somewhere."

"Haha, now I'd never let that happen to you. So Chris...are we, y'know, ok now?" she asked. "Since things have been really awkward for us lately."

"I'm willing to make things right between us again, babe, and that's a promise. I love you so much."

The Diva grinned and replied, "I love you, too..." before immediately locking her lips with his in another kiss. She had to block out the image of Velvet kissing him, after all.

"Aww, look at this! Two turtledoves in love!" an all-too familiar voice announced.

The two turned around to find Batista clapping slowly.

"Have you been watching us this whole time, douchebag?" Mickie demanded. "God, how about getting a life of your own?"

"Hey, I can't help it if we just happen to run into each other in the same places. But it looks like you two are on the same page again. Much better than the last few days when Chris here was acting all skeevy, y'know, like he was hiding something."

Chris's features tightened and flashed him a look as if to say, 'One more word and I'll KILL you!'

"Is there a point to what you're saying, Dave, cause you can leave right about now." Mickie snapped.

"Jeez, someone's touchy. Look, Mickie, I just wanted to tell you to be careful of your little boyfriend here. I just have a feeling that he might be more into blondes nowadays." Dave finished before heading off. "Later."

Sabin continued staring bullets through him as he left, once Mickie turned Chris around to face her. "What was that about?" she asked. "What does he mean, you're more into blondes?"

He shook his head. "I don't know what the hell he's even talking about. Look, babe, he's just trying to get under your skin and mine. Ignore him like we always do."

The Diva nodded, a little bit unsure. "Sure, I will."

Chris noticed Mickie's uncertainty and gave her another kiss. "Baby. Don't listen to him, he's wrong. Don't let what he's saying mess up your head. You know that I love you, right?"

"Aw, of course I do. C'mon, let's go and you can spoil me rotten by buying me things!" the brunette exclaimed. "Besides, you owe me after maxing out my credit card the last time."

"How could I resist, babe, they had a truckload of new games down at Gamestop and how could I ever turn down that new Final Fantasy?" he cried as the two headed off.

"I don't care, there were more productive things that you could've done with my American Express!" she laughed.


	21. Chapter 21

**_AN: First half of this chappie's rated M. Sort of, I guess._  
**

* * *

**Chapter 21**

The rest of the week flew pretty fast, and while Chris was still doing a great job keeping his huge secret, he and Alex still needed to focus and prepare for their match at Over the Limit. Before anyone realized, Sunday was already here, and it was only a few hours before the pay per view was supposed to begin. Everyone was pretty bummed about the stipulations of the Guns' match, but nobody was more upset than both AJ and Alex.

That late afternoon, the tiny Diva sat on the windowsill, blankly looking out at the darkening sky view. The sky seemed to mirror exactly how she was feeling - bleak and hopeless. Shaking this out of her head, she soon began remembering one of the happier times that she and Alex once had...

_..._

_"But there was one thing that you told me last night that just bothered the hell outta me." the tag team specialist continued._

_Her features turned into worry. "What?"_

_"When you called yourself a tiny, pathetic nerd. I just hate it when you feel so insecure about yourself. Do you even know how amazing you really are to me?" he asked._

_She gave him a cute little shrug and shook her head. "No." she said in a tiny voice._

_"You're not pathetic in any way, you're incredible. And I love the fact that you're a nerd! I love how you're so down to earth and you're a chick who enjoys video games and comics like I do! I love the way you bat your eyes at me or when you laugh, y'know, that little snort you do, I think that it's freaking adorable!" he continued._

_She smiled and began tearing up again._

_"And you know what? I may seem cool on the outside, but on the inside, I'm just as big a nerd as you are, and that just makes us perfect for each other. So April Jeanette, will you forgive me?" he asked, taking her hands and looking into her eyes._

_She giggled and replied, "Yes, of course I forgive you, Alex. But there's just one more thing that I need to know."_

_"What is it?"_

_"When you said that you loved me, did you mean it?" she asked._

_"Of course I did. That's what I was going to tell you after our match at the Pay Per View that night." he replied. "I really do love you, April."_

_The tiny Diva smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Well, I just wanted to tell you that I love you, too, Alex." she said truthfully. He smiled at his girlfriend before the two leaned in and wrapped themselves in an exhilarating kiss._

...

The brunette sniffled and felt the tears stinging her eyes, not seeing Alex stopping to watch his distraught girlfriend from the doorway. The hurt was evident in his face, seeing her so broken up, so to try and make things just a little bit better, he approached her and wrapped his arms around the tiny Diva.  
As always, she melted in his embrace and wrapped her arms around his, holding him close. "Shells?" she asked in a half whisper.

"Yeah?" he asked, kissing her shoulder.

"Why does this have to happen to us? Things were going perfect for us before you guys had to go to that meeting. What if...what if you guys lose your match tonight?" she asked, tearfully turning back to look at him.

He wiped away her tears with his thumbs before replying, "We can't think that way, April. You know why? Chris and I've faced challenges that had the odds pinned against us before, and we've always came out winning. Who's to say that the same won't happen again tonight? Then, I won't be going anywhere."

"I know, but I can't help but to think what happens if Dolph and Dave try and cheat to screw you guys over again. They've had no problem doing it before, and something tells me that they'll do just about anything to get rid of you guys and take your titles at the same time!" she exclaimed.

"April-"

"I just can't help feeling that way, Alex, I can't!" she said defenselessly. "You can't leave me, Alex. I can't lose Chris, who's like a brother to me, and you, the love of my life. It's a guarantee that if you go back to TNA, we'll never see each other again."

The Detroit native sighed and combed his fingers through her hair. "Ok, maybe you're right. But I sure as hell won't let that happen, and I'll make sure Chris doesn't, either. I couldn't even think about losing you, April. You're perfect."

She continued gazing at him while her arms instinctively wrapped around his neck and he pulled her closer to him, pulling her in for an incredibly passionate kiss. Soon after they broke away, she uttered, "Shells, I...I want you."

"I want you too, babe." he nodded.

"No, I mean, I _really_ need you. Right now. Babe, this could be our last night together and the least I could do is to give you something to one day come back to." she clarified, straddling over his waist. "Please, Alex..."

He got the message and said in a low, yet seductive voice, "Well, then I better give you something to remember me by."

Soon after, the two crashed into another kiss, while her hands roamed all over his back and chest, before they crept under his shirt to feel his toned chest and muscles. One of his arms wrapped around her waist while his free hand reached towards the back of her shirt, furiously trying to remove it. She broke away first and whipped off his shirt in a rush, her hands roaming around his waist and lower back. Next, Alex swiftly removed her shirt, carelessly tossing it to the side, before lifting the young woman into his arms and carrying her to the bed, gently laying her down.

She smiled once he crawled over her, hovering over her body with a devilish smile playing on his lips. The lovers crashed into another kiss and soon after, he moved on to kiss the side of her neck, allowing her to gratefully take in his scent. The Detroit native moved on to kiss her body downwards, until he stopped at her lower half. Before doing anything else, he flashed her a smile while she flashed him one in return. Soon enough, he removed her jeans, she removed his, and within minutes, the two were making out under the sheets with every article of their clothing scattered across the floor.

She eventually ended up on top of him, and when she felt him enter her, she instinctively cried out his name while she tossed her head back in pure bliss. He thrusted more and more quickly as she rode over him, her hands roaming up and down his chiseled chest and abs. The Diva's cries of pleasure rose higher and higher, but before she could reach her breaking point, Alex pulled her down and flipped her over, so that he was hovering over her. Not taking their eyes off of one another, he resumed his thrusts while her legs wrapped around his waist, wanting to feel every inch of him. Feeling nothing but absolute bliss, he uttered a small growl while he violently drove himself into the Diva faster and harder, and he didn't think he could last much longer, as did she.

Moments later, her breathing became more shallow and her nails raked down his back, as her moans grew higher and higher once she was approaching her climax. The Detroit native grabbed onto her waist and pulled her into him, tossing his head back once he was reaching his. He gave her one last powerful thrust, and before anything else could happen, she screamed out his name in pure ecstasy. This was enough to send him over the edge as well, once he cried out her name in reply as he shot his load into her. In the afterglow of their lovemaking, Alex wrapped his strong arms around the tiny Diva while she rested in his embrace.

"That was incredible." she said, tracing a finger down his chest.

"Sure was." he agreed, kissing her forehead. Then, he noticed that she had a few more tears streaming down her face. He wiped them away. "Sweetheart, what's wrong?"

"Just thinking that we may never have moments like this again. You guys have to head out in about an hour or two, don't you?" she asked.

He looked at the clock and sighed. "Yeah. Man, I just don't want to leave this room right now."

"And I don't want you to leave. Alex...you know, we never even got to take that trip to Japan that we wanted to go on." she sniffled.

His heart was breaking for the Diva's heart, which was also breaking. "April, it's still too early to tell what happens. You gotta have faith that Chris and I can win this match, and when we do, I promise, I'm taking you out to Japan for the time of your life. I'll buy you all the clothes and plushies that you could ever want."

She cutely pouted. "Pinkie swear?"

Shelley chuckled and linked his pinkie with hers. "Pinkie swear. I love you so much, April."

The brunette sniffled and smiled through her tears. "I love you too, Alex." she replied before the lovers wrapped themselves in another amazing kiss.

* * *

In the meantime, the guilt of sleeping with Velvet was becoming too much for Chris, and with the possibility of him leaving the company if they lost their match looming over his head, he decided to finally come clean to Mickie about everything. Besides, things would go one hell of a lot worse if Dave had told her first. He stopped outside Punk and Britani's hotel room, where Mickie was chatting with the British Diva inside.

"Ok, Sabin. You can do this, man." he told himself. But before he could knock, the door opened.

"Oh hey, Chris, what brings you by?" Britani asked with a smile.

"Hey, Britani, I uh, just wanted to talk to Mickie for a sec."

"Ok, no problem, I gotta head out and meet up with my Punkers. We're headed out to see The Cabin in the Woods in the theater. We just love all that horror and gore!" she giggled.

"You two are perfect for one another. Watch in good health!" Mickie laughed.

"We will! Later, guys!" she called, heading off.

Chris sent her a wave when Mickie asked, "So, my wonderful Chrismeister. What do you have to talk to me about?"

He closed the door behind him. "Wow, you're in an awfully chipper mood considering the fact that Alex and I may be having our last match here tonight." he smirked a little.

"No, you won't. You guys have beaten the odds before, and I know that you guys won't be going anywhere since you have this match in the bag!" she kissed him. "I believe in you guys."

"Uh, thanks, babe, that means a lot." he nodded with a small smile.

Something about him didn't seem right to Mickie. "Chris? Are you ok? You seem a little...anxious." she asked, feeling his forehead.

"Well, to be honest, I am feeling a little anxious about what I have to tell you." he said slowly.

"...Okay." she said hesitantly. "What's going on?"

He took a seat on the edge of the bed next to her and twiddled his fingers, trying to find the right words to say. "Mickie, baby, I love you so much, and I hope you know that, too. But...there was a reason why I've been acting so strange over the last few weeks."

She grabbed his hand. "Chris, you're scaring me. What's wrong?" she asked in a small voice.

"Babe, I...I don't know how to tell you this..."

"Chris, just tell me!" she cried, really getting worried.

"Ok. It has to do with Velvet." he uttered.

Now, her grip loosened on his hand and she felt the urge to immediately pull away. "...What about Velvet?"

He sighed. "The night that you and I had that fight in the hall...I had sex with her afterwards." he confessed, finally looking up at her.

Now, she gave him a look of disdain and fiercely snatched her hand away from his, standing up and staring bullets through him.

Sabin looked back at her, waiting for some kind of response. "Mickie. Mickie, please say something."

She shook her head, her eyes piercing into his.

"Say something! Please! Scream at me! Throw something, break something, just DO something!" he snapped, standing up.

As a reply, she approached him and sent a sharp slap across his face. "You liar." she hissed. "You LIAR!"

He held his sore cheek and turned back to her.

"I'm not lying, Mickie, it just happened." he uttered. "I can't tell you how sorry I am that it happened."

"Oh, you're not sorry. You LET it happen. I KNEW that blonde skank was after you, but did you push her away? No, you did not." she continued.

"I tried to." he said quietly, no longer able to make eye contact with her.

"Let. Me. Finish. So you've been LYING to me for the past few weeks, looking me dead in the eye as if nothing had gone wrong, when the entire time, you knew that you banged that slut of yours."

"Mickie, she's not a slut!"

"Oh sure, go on and defend her!" the Country Diva cried. "So tell me, Chris. Are you in love with her?"

He refused to say a word.

"Come on, Chrismeister, tell me! Your feelings for her never went away? Can't stay away from her?" she egged him on. "TELL ME!"

"I...I do love her."

"Oh, my God." she muttered, exhaustingly grabbing her hair and pulling it behind her back. "Oh God, oh God, oh, God..."

"But I love YOU even more, Mickie!" he cried, trying to approach her.

"Shut up."

"No, you wanted an explanation, you got one. I admit it! I love two women at the same time, I'm a terrible, scum of the earth kinda guy, right?"

"Shut up!"

"I hate that it happened, Mickie, but it did and I'm sorry, I'm SO sorry." he pleaded, wrapping his arms around her, but she violently tried to break out of his grasp.

"No, NO, SHUT UP! Leave me alone, get your hands off of me!" she screamed, collapsing to the ground. "You cheated on me!"

"Come on, babe, this will never happen again, I swear on my life." he said, kneeling down to meet her height.

"How-how could you do this to me, Chris? I-I thought you were supposed to be the one guy who'd...who'd actually stay faithful to me..." she choked out between sobs.

He felt like crying, too. "Mickie, I love you. Wouldn't you rather at least hear this from me than Dave?"

She whipped around. "Dave? What the hell does he have to do with this?"

"Apparently, there was a hidden camera in the hotel room that Velvet and I were in, and it recorded everything we did on a tape. Dave somehow got a hold of the tape and basically blackmailed me by saying that if I had chosen to forfeit tonight's match and go back to Impact, he wouldn't reveal the tape to you and the entire roster." he revealed, to her utter shock. "I'd rather tell you all this than have you find out over the big screen!"

"I-I...I think I'm gonna be sick." she said, getting up.

"No, no, Mickie, please. Please, I'm sorry, we can work this out, please!" he cried, pulling her back.

"So let me get this straight. You were WILLING to lose the match on purpose, just to keep your little secret."

"I was trying to protect you!" he argued.

"No, you weren't. You were just being selfish. Think about Alex and April. If you guys lose this match because of you, Alex will never see AJ again. I'd never see Alex again, and he's like a brother to me!" she continued, pointing an accusing finger towards him.

"It was all a huge mistake, babe, I swear it was. Velvet never should've came here in the first place." he replied.

"Don't 'babe' me. Chris, I don't even know you anymore! When we first got together, I told you my story and you promised-PROMISED that you'd never cheat on me, break my heart, and make me lose hope in love. Tonight, you've managed to do all three." she continued tearfully. "How-how could you do this?" her voice broke as the tears flowed down. "I love you!"

He sniffled as some stray tears rolled down his face. "Mickie, I can't tell you enough how sorry I am. I want you, I love you more than Velvet. You've been more than I ever deserved and what I did...it's totally unforgivable. Please, just don't end things like this."

She wasn't swayed by his tears and she crossed her arms. "Oh, it's over. Because you know what I want? I HOPE that you guys-no, YOU get defeated at the show tonight, because I'm done. I'm done! I'm finished with you!"

His heart broke. "You can't say that. Mickie, you're just pissed, you don't mean that."

"I KNOW exactly what I'm saying! I've given you plenty of chances and it ends TONIGHT! I'm grabbing my stuff from the room and I'm staying with Punk, Britani, or maybe even Kaitlyn from now on. I can't deal with this anymore." she sobbed.

He grabbed her arm. "Mickie, don't do this..."

She whipped away from his grip, grabbed a nearby vase, and furiously smashed it against a wall, screaming, "AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

Chris stood back, shocked.

Breathing heavily, she turned back around with a dejected look and announced, "See? I broke something. Think of that vase as my heart before you shattered it." Mickie finished, storming out of the room.

Sabin decided not to stop her anymore as his emotions were getting the best of him. Looking in her direction while she headed off into the dark hallway, he angrily punched a wall and then slowly slid down it, unable to control the tears streaming down his face.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

An hour later, Alex, AJ, and Chris all arrived to the arena, while Mickie was too upset to go anywhere and stayed at the hotel. Now, the three were in the Guns' locker room...

"I wonder what's wrong with Mickie now." AJ said, worried. "I've been looking all over for her, but I haven't found her. Thank Goodness we don't have to defend our titles tonight or else we'd be screwed."

"Yeah, I wonder what's up with her, too." Alex replied, sending a stern glance towards Chris.

He sighed. "Guys, it's my fault. It's all my fault." he confessed. "Not too long ago, I told Mickie the truth about everything."

Alex raised his eyebrows in surprise while AJ gasped a little. "Oh my God. I guess she's not taking the news well at all." she replied.

"No, she hates me. Wait, how'd you know about me sleeping with Velvet? Did Alex tell you?"

She nodded. "Yes. But Chris, you know that you love Mickie, so why would you do such a thing in the first place?"

"Of course I love her! But I don't know why I slept with Velvet, I guess it was just the heat of the moment kind of thing. I couldn't control myself." he shrugged. "When I told her everything, I've never seen her look so...broken and-and rejected before. I never want to see her like that again, but hell, she wants nothing to do with me anymore, so why even bother with anything?"

"Hey, at least you told her before April and I were forced to." Alex spoke up.

"Or before Dave told her." he added.

"Dave? What does-" Shelley began.

"Long story short, there was a hidden camera in the room that Velvet and I were in, it recorded everything, Dave somehow got ahold of the tape and blackmailed me into purposely losing the match tonight and then he wouldn't show the tape to Mickie and all of you guys." he revealed.

"What?" AJ asked, shocked.

"What kind of bull is that? Chris, don't tell me you accepted his deal." Alex stood up.

As an answer, he sighed again and turned away.

"Damn it, Chris!" Alex snapped. "You are NOT going to purposely lose our match tonight, do you hear me? I don't care what Dave has against you, we're not losing our titles, and we are not leaving this place."

"Look, this is just as hard on me as it is on you! I-I don't know what the hell to do anymore. What's the point of me staying here if everything's falling apart?" he asked. "Mickie hates me, Dave has concrete evidence against me that could ruin my reputation if everyone sees it, so why not go back to Impact with Velvet?"

Alex shook his head, not believing what he was hearing. "Oh, so you just want to drop everything we've worked so hard for, you want to leave Mickie without even trying to win her back, and you want to go back to Impact so that you can be with _Velvet._ Well what about your friends here, Chris? What about me? I'm supposed to be your best friend, your teammate! If one of us goes back, we both have to go, and I don't want to leave this place. It's either that, or the Machine Guns are finished. Now, do you want that?"

"We can't split up the Guns, Alex! And I don't want to leave you hanging."

"What about me, then?" AJ spoke up. "Chris, if you leave, I'll be losing my 'big brother'. You're one of my best friends and I love you that way."

His features softened. "AJ, I love you like a sister, too. And you've been nothing but sweet to me, but-"

"But nothing. You either help me win or help us lose. Your choice." Alex cut him off.

Before anything else could be said, Punk lightly knocked on the door, saying, "Hey, guys, got word that your match is up next. How you feeling?"

Alex glared towards Chris while he sent him back a look.

"Well, I'M confident that we'll win, but hey, not everyone's opinion matters. Does it, Chris?" he asked sarcastically.

"Look, why don't you just shut up?" he snapped back, sick of his attitude.

"Guys!" cried AJ.

"Hey, hey!" Punk stopped them before they could get in another fight. "What's gotten into you two?"

"It's probably just the stress of the match. Along with everything else that's going on, too." the Diva replied.

"Wha? What else is going on?" asked the WWE Champ.

"You wanna know? I cheated on Mickie one night and had sex with my ex-girlfriend Velvet Sky! Mickie hates me now and that's why she's not here, because I screwed up BADLY. So let's get this damned match over with now so that everyone else can start hating me, too!" Chris snapped, rushing out of the room and into the hall.

Punk was speechless. "...Uh, whoa. Things just got totally serious around here. WIll he be in any condition to fight?" he asked.

"Don't worry, he WILL be. I'll make sure of it." Alex nodded surely, grabbing his title and slinging it over his shoulder. Then, he turned to his girlfriend. "And April, I promise that we'll win this match. You won't lose me and I won't lose you."

She nodded and took his hands. "I believe in you guys. And I just hope that you help change Chris's mind so that he'll do the right thing. Just be careful out there, baby, I love you."

"I love you, too." he smiled before giving her a passionately sweet kiss.

"Hey, I still don't know what the hell's going on between you two, but I seriously hope you come out on top. Place won't be the same without you guys." Punk smiled, sharing a manly handshake with Alex.

"Thanks, man, that means a lot. And could you do me a favor and stay here with April? I don't want her in here alone, y'know, since Mickie isn't here."

"No sweat. I'm sure Britani and Kaitlyn will swing by, too, so we'll all have a happy little time in here." CM nodded.

"All right, thanks again. See you guys in a few." Shelley nodded, heading off to join Chris. "And you."

"What?" he said with haste.

"You will not be the reason why we lose these titles and that I lose April. Do the right thing, not for you, but for US." he demanded.

He nodded. "I know exactly what I'm gonna do. Let's go."

From behind a wall, Dolph and Dave heard everything, snickering all the way.

"Damn right he's gonna do the right thing. If he doesn't want this sex tape to be released to the general public, they WILL make the right choice." Dave smirked.

Dolph nodded along. "You're a genius, dude. Too bad we couldn't recruit you earlier!"

"Hey, I'm only carrying the tape. Thank Eve for pitching the idea in the first place." The Animal replied. "Man, what a babe."

"Wha? I thought you had the hots for that Velvet chick who was here a few weeks ago." the bleach blonde replied.

"I do. I'm the Animal, I could bed any chick I wanted to and they'd come back for more."

"Well, I get where you're coming from, but something tells me that Eve's off limits." replied Dolph.

"Why?"

"Cause! Haven't you noticed that she's been getting awfully cozy lately with Laurinitis?" he continued. "She's like his personal executive assistant or something and she basically waits on him hand and foot! Plus-and you didn't hear this from me-rumor has it that she's doing personal 'favors' for Johnny in order to keep her position in the group."

Dave made a face. "But isn't he married?"

"Yup." he nodded.

They both took a moment to picture Eve getting it on with Johnny Ace, someone old enough to be her father, and shuddered.

"Ok, that was scary. C'mon, let's go kick some ass, take some titles, and send those two little punks packing." Dolph announced, heading off.

Right after that, Jack Swagger emerged from behind a wall, suspiciously glaring towards the two. "Dolph's MY partner." he muttered, jealous.

* * *

And soon after that, the match was about to begin...

_"Hundred miles an hour on a dead end road_

_I need a little Detroit in my soul_

_Every night's hotel a different name_

_It's part of the game_

_Everybody wants to be just like me_

_Fame and fortune is their fantasy_

_I gotta get back where the life was pretty_

_Rockin all the way to the Motorcity_

_Motorcity, motorcity, motorcity, I'm rockin' all the way to the motorcity..."_

The Raleigh, North Carolina fans roared for the Guns once their theme music blasted through the arena first, as Lillian announced, "This Tag Team match is scheduled for one fall, and it is for the WWE Tag Team Championship! Approaching the ring first from Detroit, Michigan, they are the current WWE Tag Team Champions, Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin, the Motor City Machine Guns!"

Despite the rift between them, the two put their differences aside for tonight's match. The boys stood back to back and posed their 'Guns' sign, before heading down the ramp and slapping the fans' hands. They slid into the ring, climbed over the turnbuckles, and posed for the crowd. Soon after, Dolph's theme blasted through the arena with the fans immediately jeering in reply.

_"I'm here to show the world_

_I'm here to show the world_

_Come on!_

_Bring it on..._

_Do what I say, better watch what I do_

_Better heed the warning I'm here to give you_

_If you ever doubted me, you don't have a clue_

_I'm here to show the world_

_I'm here to show the world..."_

"And their opponents, approaching the ring from Washington D.C., he is the Animal, Batista, and his tag team partner from Hollywood, Florida, Dolph Ziggler!" announced Lillian.

The boos continued on as Dolph and his pink T-shirt strutted down towards the ring, with Dave right alongside him. The Guns eyed down their opponents at first, before turning to one another. Alex shot Chris a look which said, 'Don't screw this up, or else.'

Chris sent him a look that replied, 'Oh, don't give me that look! I'll do what I can!'

Soon enough, the four were in the ring, with Alex and Ziggler facing off and Chris and Dave just standing there, their eyes piercing into one another's. Batista chuckled, mouthing to his enemy, 'I've still got the tape!'

As a reply to this, Chris bitch slapped him across the face while the crowd responded with a rousing, "OH!"

Dave was about to pummel his opponent, but the ref held him back and rang the bell for the match to officially start, as Shelley and Ziggler stepped to their respective corners behind the ropes.

A pissed off and vengeful Chris began throwing a slur of punches and kicks towards Dave before he even had a chance to fight back, and the beatdown was so bad that the ref had to pry him away to the opposite side of the ring. Dave took this chance to charge back towards Chris, and when the ref ducked out of the way, the Detroit native narrowly escaped getting crushed by the muscular superstar, as Batista had crashed into the corner turnbuckles.

With Dave temporarily dazed, Sabin attacked his enemy with a swinging side slam backbreaker, and soon went for the cover, where he kicked out at two. The younger man was about to capitalize again, until Dave got up and surprised him with a rough kick to the gut, followed by a vertical suplex powerslam. He went for the cover this time, but the Detroit native kicked out at two. From his corner, Dolph was desperately reaching out for a tag, but Batista decided to be a little selfish and finish off Sabin on his own.

While Chris crawled towards his corner to tag in Alex, Dave grabbed onto his leg and tried to pull him back. With Chris balancing himself on one leg, he took this opportunity to use his free leg to give the Animal a superkick to the back of the head. WIth both men down, Alex and Dolph reached out for a tag from their respective partners, as the crowd was 100% on the Guns' side. Both men were slowly but surely able to reach their opposite sides for a tag at the same time, allowing both Alex and Dolph to leap into the ring.

The two men were on fire, furiously trading punches across each other's faces, before Ziggler stopped Shelley by swinging him towards the ropes, where Alex used the top rope as leverage to give a poweful superkick to the bleach blonde. With him down, he tagged Chris back in for one of their many tag team maneuvers. They managed to hold Dolph upside down between the ropes in the Tree of Woe position, when Shelley attacked first with a baseball slide to the self proclaimed Show Off, followed by a hesitation dropkick, courtesy of Sabin.

The crowd whooped and cheered at this, but when Dave stepped back into the ring, the Guns decided to teach him a little lesson, too. Sabin took him down with a kneeling side slam, followed by Shelley climbing up to the top turnbuckle and signaling to the fans, before leaping off with a frog splash to the D.C. native's body. The cheers continued when Shelley went for the cover, but again, Dave kicked out at two. Pissed at this, the Guns both decided to double team the Animal, sending a simultaneous slur of punches and kicks at the Superstar's prone body, but Dolph was having none of this and managed to take out both of them out with a simultaneous swinging neckbreaker.

The boys held the back of their necks in pain, as The #Heel decided to be a show off and perform a perfect headstand, and the fans clearly weren't impressed on account of all the boos being sent his way. Soon after this, Shelley approached Ziggler who was still showing off and chuckled lightly at this, when the blonde stood back up and asked, "What? You think this is funny?"

He shrugged.

"Yeah? Yeah, well laugh at THIS!" he snapped, bitch slapping him across the face.

"OH!" cried the fans.

Alex grew pissed at this and grabbed the blonde in a reverse piledriver hold and took him down into a wheelbarrow facebuster. He went for the pin, but Ziggler kicked out at two and a half. Soon after this, he held the blonde down with stretch plum hold, forcing him to submit. The crowd egged on for Dolph to tap out, but the Show Off refused, elbowing Alex's jaw a few times to get him to loosen the hold. He held his jaw but didn't get a chance to defend himself when Dolph countered with his patented sleeper hold, trying to drain the life out of Shelley.

The Detroit native struggled to get himself out of the hold, as the ref checked to see if he was still consious enough to finish the match. Chris intently looked on from his corner, ready to leap in at any minute, as Dave sent a glare towards him in reply. He still wasn't quite finished with him yet. Soon enough, Alex managed to elbow Dolph off of him, loosening his grip over the younger man's body, and when he regained his energy again, he tackled Ziggler to where they ended up rolling out of the ring. The brawl began as the fans at ringside cheered them on, but when Dave was seen approaching the two and ready to attack Alex from behind, Chris joined the fray by leaping over the top rope in a no-handed springboard suicide dive, taking the Animal down in one shot.

The crowd cheered in approval of this, but his moment was ruined when he was suddenly taken down by Alex! Shocked, he looked back at his tag team partner, to where he quickly got back up and tried to go after Dolph, who snickered and ran back to his side of the ring. Chris didn't see Dolph do this and demanded to his friend, "What the hell, man?"

"I didn't shove you down, Dolph shoved ME into YOU!" Shelley argued back.

Chris was too pissed off about everything going on, so he wasn't thinking at all when he slapped Alex across the face.

The crowd exchanged surprised glances, with some 'WHOA's' mixed in.

Angry at this, Alex roughly slapped Chris across the face in retaliation, but before they could fight one another, Sabin caught Dave whipping out a steel chair and was headed to attack the two, so Chris saved Alex by pulling him out of harm's way, just missing Dave's chair attack.

Shelley glanced towards Chris for a moment, sending him a silent 'thank you' before the two gave the Animal a double superkick, sending him down and his chair flying elsewhere. Now Dolph was angry and aggravated at this, so he simply walked behind the Announcer's table, grabbed both titles, and headed up the ramp on his own, without giving Dave a second thought. The Guns caught him running off with their gold, so they sped up the ramp and both took him down from behind with another slur of punches and kicks. From the ring, the ref ordered for them all to get back in the ring before he started counting, "1! 2! 3! 4!..."

Alex grabbed his title and tried to pull Chris off of the bleach blonde, but he wouldn't budge as he kept on the attack. "Chris, COME ON!" he yelled.

"5! 6!..."

Sabin continued ignoring Alex as he kept the beatdown going on Ziggler, but a small part of him was willing to lose the match. He tried to fight off this thought and continued beating the blonde, as Alex desperately tried to pull his friend off of him before it was too late.

"7! 8!..."

Ziggler was still aware of what could happen as the result of a count out, so he stumbled up and sped back to the ring, as did Alex.

"9!-" the referee stopped counting once both opposing Superstars were back in the ring. The fight continued once Ziggler swung the title towards Alex, but he ducked just in time to attack Dolph with cross-armed scoop brainbuster. He went for the cover, but the Florida native kicked out at two. Soon after, Dolph made it seem like he was going to attack Alex once again, but seeing Chris reaching out for a tag, he sped past Alex and took a swipe towards Sabin, barely missing him. Pissed, Chris leapt into the ring and went after Ziggler, attempting to stop him with a running arched big boot, but the referee stepped in the way to try and stop him.

Unfortunately, Chris couldn't stop himself and accidentally kicked the ref down instead!

"OH!" the fans cried again, and Alex looked on in shock.

The ref gave Chris a look as the Detroit native tried to apologize, but Dave was tagged in and he finished the job by taking him out with a devastating sitout powerbomb. Alex rushed to break the pin, but it was too late as the ref had counted, "1...2...3!"

Once Batista's theme music blasted through the arena, the crowd booed like mad, and Lillian announced, "Here are your winners and the NEW WWE Tag Team Champions, Dolph Ziggler, and the Animal, Batista!"

Dolph grinned crazily and snatched his title, as Dave grabbed his and the two quickly climbed up the ramp. In the meantime, Chris painfully and slowly got up to a sitting position and now the reality of things were finally settling in. The fans had already known about the stipulations of the match, and were devastated that their favorites had lost the match and would have to leave the company. They chanted in support of them, "MCMG! MCMG! MCMG! MCMG! MCMG!..."

Sabin had on a small smile for the crowd, but once he turned around, he found Alex slowly shaking his head, glaring at him in total disdain. He was sure going to get it once they were backstage.

Soon after, Mr. John Laurinitis came out and stopped at the top of the ramp alongside the two new Champions, and the crowd's boos grew even louder. He smiled and said over all the noise, "First of all, I would like to thank the four of you for putting on such a great match, and how about a round of applause for your NEW Tag Team Champions, Dolph Ziggler and Dave Batista!"

Tons and tons of boos came from the crowd in response.

"Now as for you, Motor City Machine Guns...I think you know what the future holds for the two of you. And I would personally like to wish you the best in your future endeavors." he finished, giving a last wave to the crowd before he and the new champs headed backstage.

* * *

Afterwards, the Guns headed backstage, feeling totally lost and dejected. The other Superstars and Divas gave them well wishes, and when they were alone, Chris turned to Alex and finally had the courage to say, "Alex, I didn't mean for us to lose like that, man. It was-"

Shelley said nothing and brushed past him, looking for his girlfriend. In the Guns' locker room, Punk, Britani, and Kaitlyn, who were there, too, tried to calm AJ down, but she tearfully ran out of the room, looking for Alex. The two nearly crashed into one another, where she instinctively wrapped her arms around his waist and sobbed in his chest. "Alex, no..."

His arms wrapped around the tiny Diva's waist as he held her close and muttered, "April, I'm so sorry. I failed you. I am so sorry..."

The Detroit native rarely ever cried, but the fact that he was losing the one woman that he loved more than anything, really hit him hard once the tears were threatening to spill from his eyes. In the background, Chris looked at his two best friends sharing a last embrace, and he felt worse than ever. He knew that Alex probably hated him now, too, just as much as Mickie probably did, but soon wondered, what would be the fate of the Machine Guns in the future? Would they really be over?


	23. Chapter 23

**_AN: I just love my reviewers and I just wanted to thank DannyBoo511 for the review! :)_  
**

* * *

**Chapter 23**

The night after the PPV was a rough one, as both AJ and Alex could hardly get any sleep, Chris was awake all night lying in bed, thinking about Mickie and wherever she was, while Velvet tried to distract him by giving him a few kisses to help calm him down. Knowing that a part of him still loved her, too, he wasn't quick to stop her or pull away from her. She'd be a good distraction for his loss of Mickie, that's for sure. Finally, the next evening, the gang had already headed to the arena for the next edition of Raw, and both Chris and Alex were scheduled for one last meeting with Laurinitis. Now, the two, along with AJ and Punk, were in the Guns' locker room once again...

"Guys...I-I just can't believe this is your last night here." the tattooed Superstar sighed, crossing his arms and leaning against a wall. "You two are like, my best friends here and I'm not gonna have any fun around here without ya."

"I always did have a good time trying to steal Pepsi's from you." Chris spoke up.

"And I always had a great time fighting you to keep you away from em." he chuckled back. Then, he, along with Chris, noticed a distraught AJ sitting on Alex's lap in the corner of the room.

"It's just such a shame that those two have to be split up like this." Punk said quietly.

Chris nodded.

"Hey, Sabin - Let me ask you something, and don't hate me for this."

"Go ahead." he shrugged. "I won't hate you for it."

"Did you really kick the referee on purpose? Just to make sure that he'd disqualify you guys? Did you want you two to lose the match?"

"No. Punk, I swear on my life that I did NOT do any of that stuff on purpose. It was a total accident! Dolph just pissed me off, so I was aiming for him, but the ref was just in the way and it was too soon for me to stop. I didn't want to make any of this happen, but it did." the Detroit native explained. "And now those two have to suffer for it."

Meanwhile, AJ had broken away from her kiss with Alex and said, "This can't be the end, babe, it just can't be. I don't want you to leave me."

He gazed down at the Diva, brushing a strand of hair from out of her face. "And I don't want to leave you. There just has to be a way for us to keep in contact. I guess we could text one another non stop, and on holidays, we'd get to see each other. Right?" he asked.

"I guess, but it won't be the same. I'll rarely ever get to be held in your arms like this. We'll never be able to have the same fun we had playing video games together, and reading our favorite comics. Nothing will be the same anymore." AJ replied. "Plus, they say that long-distance relationships never even work."

"Well, we're gonna have to make it work, because this won't be the last I see of you. Count on that." Alex said surely. Then, he sent a glare towards Chris, who sheepishly looked back at him and sighed.

"Alex, I know what you're thinking, and I did NOT legitimately cost us the match last night." he told him.

"Sabin, don't even try to explain. You kicked the referee, KNOWING that he could disqualify us for doing such a thing, and you pretty much LET Dave pin you!" he argued.

"No, me kicking the referee was a total accident! I was aiming for Dolph, but he just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. I've decided that I want to stay here, Alex. I've realized that I love it here. I want to try and make things right with Mickie, I want to stay and keep being AJ's big brother, and I want to stay here with my best friend and continue kicking ass as the Motor City Machine Guns!" he exclaimed.

Hearing this, Alex's features softened from anger to surprise.

Soon enough, a knock was heard on the door, and Eve entered the room, smirking all the way. "Um, very sorry to interrupt, but Mr. Laurinitis would like to see you two in his office right away." she announced.

The four friends in the room looked at one another, and all followed her out. Eve slowed down her walk, so that she strolled alongside Alex. "So, Alex, it's such a shame that tonight's your last night here. I'll miss the both of you guys, but I'll especially miss you." she pouted, grabbing his arm.

He quickly snaked away from her, while AJ stepped up to her and demanded, "Get your whoring hands off of MY man, before I'll be forced to beat the crap out of you and give you another black eye."

"Aw, sweet little innocent, AJ. You better watch who you're talking to now. I'm the assistant to Johnny, which means that I have power. I have the power to make you face guys like Mark Henry and Ryback in handicapped matches. I have the power to _fire_ you. But most importantly, I have the power to make your soon to be ex-boyfriend mine, since *scoffs* you two are over and done with." the Latina replied, twirling a strand of her hair.

"You BITCH!" the tiny Diva snapped, lunging towards her, when Alex held her back.

"Hey, hey, settle down, baby, I don't want you to lose your job over this. Besides...if she touches my arm again, I might catch Hepatitis C or something." Shelley smirked, sending a knowing glance towards Eve.

"OH!" she scoffed, storming off in a huff, into Johnny's office.

Punk laughed. "Good one!...Aw, damn it, after today, I won't be able to hear any more wise-cracks like that from the two of you! Man, if Laurinitis wasn't practically my boss, I'd kick his old ass."

Chris patted his back and smiled, while Alex replied, "Hey we'd join ya if we could." Then, he looked at Mr. L's office door. "Well, I guess this is it. Show time."

"I'd stay and listen in, but I gotta hurry and get ready for my match. But Chris, Alex...it's been real. You guys are my buds, and I'll miss the hell outta the both of you." CM said, serious. The two exchanged manly hugs with the tattooed Superstar. "We'll keep in contact, right?"

"Oh yeah, done deal, dude." Chris nodded in agreement.

Next, AJ gave Chris a hug and a kiss on the cheek before wrapping Alex in a passionate, slow kiss. "I'll be here waiting outside." she announced.

Chris nodded and flashed her a smile, when Alex replied, "Ok. I love you, April."

"I love you too, Alex." she smiled, giving him one more kiss.

Soon after they went inside the office, the Diva sniffled and protectively folded her arms around her chest, ready to cry again. Feeling sorry for his friend, Punk wrapped his arms around her in a hug. "I know it's hard, kiddo. But there's nothing that we could do to change Laurinitis's mind. I know how much they mean to you."

She nodded. "They're two of my best friends in the world. I just don't know what I'm gonna do without them."

"Well, you still have me, Britani, Kaitlyn, Mickie-if she ever comes back, and tons of people here to count on. We're here for you if you need us, little lady."

She smiled. "Thanks, Punk, I'm gonna need you guys. Now, I wouldn't want you to miss your match on account of me, so get changed!"

"All right, little miss pushy! If you need me, you know where to find me." he waved to her as he headed off.

Soon after, she sighed and slid down the wall, desperately waiting for the boys to come back out. Then, she checked her phone to find that Mickie had never answered any of her texts. "Mickie, where are you? I need my best friend here with me right now. I feel so alone."

"Hey, I thought that I was your best friend?" Kaitlyn, the NXT season 3 winner asked, joining her.

The brunette smiled. "Of course you are, Kate. Chickbusters forever."

The blonde sat next to her. "Chickbusters forever." she agreed. "Hey, I know that tonight's supposed to be the last night for the Guns and...since Mickie's too upset to come here, I just wanted to be here for you. So how you feeling now?"

"Well, first of all, I'm happy that you're here. And second, I just feel so...so empty. Chris is like my crazy, overprotective big brother who I have so much fun with, and Alex...Alex is just wonderful. He's the love of my life, and even if we never see each other again, he'll still be."

"Aw, you're making me a little misty." Kaitlyn smiled, making AJ giggle.

"Sorry, K."

"Nah, don't be sorry about anything. We all love the Guns, and this place will feel so empty without them." the blonde agreed.

"Yeah. Now, I just wish I could hear what's going on in there." the tiny Diva said, looking up at the door.

* * *

Inside...

The Guns were patiently sitting in front of Laurinitis' desk, with Johnny smiling evilly at the two, David Otunga sipping his coffee and standing on the left of him, and Eve standing on the right, crossing her arms.

"Well, well, boys. You both know why you're here. You're both here because you lost your match last night. And since you lost your match, the stipulations said that not only do you lose your titles, but you also lose your jobs here and you'll have to go back across the fence to TNA. Isn't this GREAT?" he asked, grinning like a madman.

Sabin slowly shook his head while Alex crossed his arms and flatly replied, "Oh sir, I am absolutely giddy."

"Good! You two have been nothing but a problem ever since Day one, and tonight...IT ENDS. The tag team titles have gone back to the men who _really_ deserve them, and frankly, the Big 'E will be a better place without the two of you around. Now, if you two sign right here on the dotted line of this contract, you'll both be free to go." he said, placing two contracts on the table. "And you got 5 seconds to sign before I have security escort you two out."

The Guns looked at one another and were about to sign the paper, before the door bursted open and a familiar woman's voice called, "John, STOP!"

The boys whipped around to find their former boss from TNA, Dixie Carter!

"_Dixie_?" they asked, shocked.

"Who the hell let you in here?" Mr. L demanded, slamming down his coffee cup. "Can't you see that we're in the middle of a meeting?"

"John, you can't do this. You can't just force the Guns out of here against their choosing." she continued.

"But you were the one who agreed to this deal!" he cried.

"I wanted to give these men a CHOICE. You have no right to just force them out of their jobs."

"I don't need to hear this, Otunga, call for security to escort this woman out of here!" Mr. L cried.

"SIT DOWN." Dixie said sternly.

Otunga took another sip of his coffee, while Laurinitis sat down.

Next, she turned to the Guns. "Alex, Chris, I'm sorry that John's had to put you through all this trouble in the past few weeks. And I just wanted to apologize on his behalf."

"I've put THEM though trouble? They put ME through my own living hell!"

"Sit down and shut up!" she snapped.

"You go, Dixie." Alex nodded, smirking.

"Now, boys, what exactly do YOU want to do? I believe that it's your decision." she said nicely.

"Now, wait just a damn minute here!" Laurinitis snapped, but was shut up once again with a death glare sent to him by Dixie.

Alex was about to say something, but Chris spoke up first. "Dixie, you know that we'll always have Impact in our hearts. I mean, it's where Alex and I first became a team, and it's where he and I really became known for the first time. But the truth of the matter is, we just can't leave the WWE. We have too much going for us here! Alex has a girlfriend who he loves very much waiting right outside that door for him, who's also like a little sister to me, and I also have...a woman very important to me, that I can't leave. Ever." he continued, thinking about Mickie.

Alex flashed a smile towards his friend before turning back to his former boss. "He's right, ma'am. There's too much that we can't leave behind here. We just hope that y'know, you're not pissed with us for this."

She smiled. "Not at all. As long as you two are happy, that's my only concern. Just remember that if the time ever comes, the door is always open for you two to return."

The Guns smiled and gave her a hug.

"You always were the best boss we ever had!" Alex exclaimed.

"NO!" Laurinitis snapped, standing up. "This is uncalled for! These two PUNKS were supposed to be leaving this company tonight! TONIGHT!"

Dixie took the contracts on the desk and quickly tore them to pieces. "Your little plan has failed, and so have you. If the Guns want to stay here, then I give them my blessing." she announced.

"So, does this mean-" began Shelley.

"Yes. You boys aren't going anywhere." she smiled.

"YES!" they cried, wrapping one another in a congratulatory hug.

"That does it! Dixie, I'm ordering for you to leave right now before I call security!"

"Oh, sit down and shut up!" she repeated, shoving him back down to where he fell out of his seat and onto the floor.

"OH! Help, I've fallen and I can't get up!" he called.

"JOHNNY!" Eve and Otunga cried, coming to his aid while the boys laughed at this.

"Failure!" Alex cried, pointing and laughing.

"Well, you boys have nothing more to worry about. Continue on with your skyrocketing careers, and stop by now and then, will you?" Dixie asked, smiling.

The boys gave her another hug.

"Aw, we sure will, Dix, thank you so much for bailing us out." Chris smiled.

"Yeah, you're the best!" agreed Alex. "We gotta tell everyone else the great news! C'mon!"

Outside, Kaitlyn and AJ were still sitting outside of the door.

"They've been in there for an awfully long time. I wonder what's going on." said the blonde. "And who was that woman who just walked in the room?"

"Dixie Carter, she used to be their boss back when they were in TNA." replied AJ. "I wonder what she's doing here."

The doorknob rattled.

"Well, you won't have to wait long to find out." Kaitlyn replied, helping her friend up.

Alex and Chris came out first, and they came out slumped over and looking pretty depressed.

AJ's heart sank, fearing the worst. "Guys..."

A smirk soon grew on Alex's face before his expression changed to joy, wrapping the Diva in a tight hug and spinning her around.

"Whoa, whoa, wait! What happened?" she asked.

"April, baby, there's nothing to worry about anymore, because thanks to Dixie, the Guns are STAYING!"

Her eyes sparkled and she lit up. "Oh my God, are you serious?"

"Is this serious?" he asked, wrapping her in an immensely passionate kiss.

"Oh, guys, this is the greatest news I've ever gotten!" she cried, kissing him again before running over to Chris and giving him a hug and kiss on the cheek. "Aw, Chris..."

He chuckled and tassled her hair. "Looks like I get to stay around to be your unofficial big brother, yay!" he smiled.

"Oh Alex, Chris, I'm so happy that you'll be staying here with us!" Kaitlyn exclaimed. "Now neither us nor AJ will be sitting here all depressed!"

Alex smiled and gave her a hug before holding her still, allowing Chris to playfully tassle her hair, too. "We're happy that we're staying too, Kate! Now we get to keep torturing ya!" Chris laughed.

"Isn't that great?" agreed Shelley.

"AJ, help me!" Kaitlyn laughed.

"Guys, guys, leave my best friend alone!" AJ giggled, pulling the blonde out of their reach. "Oh man, you can't imagine how happy and relieved I am right now."

"Well, look at all this!" Dixie smiled, looking around at everyone.

"Oh! Uh Dixie, this is my beautiful girlfriend April, she's excellent in the ring and a wonderful girl all around, and here's our friend/puppet, Kaitlyn." Alex announced.

"Puppet?" the blonde exclaimed, playfully smacking his arm. "Hello, Dixie, nice to meet you."

"Yes, same here. I don't know what you did or said in there to change Mr. L's mind, but I'm eternally grateful to you for it. Now my Shelleykins and my broski Chris get to stay!" the tiny Diva exclaimed.

"Broski?" Sabin asked, confused. "You been hanging around with Zack lately?"

"Yeah, he rubs off a lot of his lingo on you." she smiled.

Dixie laughed. "Well, I'm happy that my Guns are happy, and if John ever gives you a problem, don't hesitate to give me a call. Now I gotta hurry and catch my flight. Bye bye, everyone." she smiled, heading off.

"Bye!-Thanks again!" they called.

Soon after, Alex was so overjoyed that he said, "Damn it, I'm so happy that I just have to kiss someone."

He went on to kiss AJ, kissed Kaitlyn on the cheek, and then wrapped an arm around Chris's neck, pulling him over to where he kissed his friend on the cheek.

"Hey!" Chris cried, wiping his cheek with the back of his hand. "I don't want your lips all over me!"

"Oh shut up, bunghole, I'm happy." Shelley replied.

Punk's match was due to start soon, but saw the four looking so happy and energetic. A big difference from when he saw them all before. "Hey, what's all this? What happened with the meeting?" he asked, smiling a little.

"Well, Punkers, thanks to our old boss, Dixie, Chris and I aren't going any-damn-where." he announced.

"Hey! That's great, congratulations for being stuck with us!" he chuckled, handshaking with them both.

"Careful dude, Alex might kiss you." announced Chris.

"Oh God, no." he jokingly backed away.

"Oh, please, these lips are amazing! Just ask April, she knows best!" he pouted, wrapping an arm around her.

She smiled. "It's true, they are quite incredible."

"Well, aren't you guys gonna go out to celebrate?" asked CM. "This is a good enough occasion to do so."

"I think we should, how about you, Shells?" asked the brunette.

"We damn well should!" he agreed. "You guys want to come with?"

"Sure, I have nothing else to do tonight, so I'm in!" Kaitlyn raised her hand.

"All right, sounds good. After the show, I'll grab Britani, and we can head out." agreed Punk.

"So um, what about Mickie? You think she'd even want to come?" asked AJ.

The five of them looked around at one another, unsure of what to do about her.

"Yeah, she's our friend, it'd be wrong of us not to include her." agreed Alex.

"Hmm. You know what, I'll stay here and try and talk to her." announced Chris.

"You sure you won't want us to stay with you guys?" asked AJ.

"Nah! Go on ahead and have your fun, I really have to try and make things right with her. I'll be all right." the Detroit native replied. "So um, Alex. Just wanted to make sure that we're on the right page again. Right?"

He smiled. "Hey, after what you said back in there, proved to me that you never really did try and make us lose in our match, and that you wanted to stay here just as much as I do. So yes, we're buds for life, man."

He smiled back and the two shared a manly hug while the others all shared a unanimous 'Aww!'

"Now this is a real warm moment right here, ain't it, friends?" Punk asked.

Chris laughed. "Sure is! But now I better get back to the hotel and find Mickie."

"Wait, what if Velvet's there?" asked AJ.

He sighed and replied, "I dunno. Just have to see what happens, I guess. Wish me luck!"

As he headed off, the others called, "Good luck!-Make Mickie a happy woman again!"

* * *

Back at the hotel, Mickie was still a heartbroken wreck after hearing the news that Chris, the one man that she loved more than anyone else, had cheated on her with Velvet. Although she was rooming with Kaitlyn for the time being, she constantly checked her phone to see that there were hundreds of texts from AJ, Alex, Punk, and all of her other friends, but refused to answer them. The Country Diva continued channel flipping from her fixed position from under the covers, but soon, her focus turned to Velvet. She was the cause of all of this!

"That bitch." she muttered, finally getting up and heading back to the Guns' hotel room.

In there, Velvet was lying on the living room couch, listening to some music and minding her own business. Her eyes were closed, so she didn't see Mickie sneak into the room, fill a pitcher with ice cold water, and approach her, before splashing the water all over the blonde's head.

"OH!" she gasped, ripping off her headphones and looking on in shock. "Mickie? What the HELL was that for?"

"This is all your fault." she said quietly.

"WHAT'S all my fault? What the hell did I do?" she demanded, getting up and rinsing out her hair.

"Oh, you knew exactly what you were doing when you betrayed my trust by sleeping with MY boyfriend." she said through clenched teeth.

The blonde stepped back, shocked. "Wh-what are you talking about? I-I never slept with Chris."

"Chris told me himself that he had sex with you that night. Now because of you, we no longer have a relationship, are you HAPPY about that?" she demanded, nearly screaming.

She sighed. "Mickie, I'm sorry, but it just happened. Chris was feeling angry that you never hear him out, and to be honest, he deserves someone better. He deserves me. Mickie, I've been keeping this with me for a while, but I've been in love with Chris the whole entire time. I've wanted for him to break up with you, so that he could come back to me. And I've tried to persuade him into coming back to TNA, so that he can be with me now and not you. I had him first, Mickie, and I want him back." she announced, pointing to herself.

If looks could kill, Velvet would be SO screwed. Mickie shook her head and retaliated by giving her a rough punch across the face, knocking her down. "You dirty WHORE!" she screamed.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

Velvet gasped, stumbling back up and holding the side of her cheek where she was punched. Not yet able to utter a clear word, she looked back at Mickie with a look of pure shock.

"You want me to do it again, cause I won't hold back." Mickie growled, nodding her head.

"I don't care what you do or say, Mickie. You can beat me to a pulp, and you still won't change the way I feel about Chris." the blonde hissed.

"Oh, you won't even know who Chris IS anymore after I beat you into the coma you deserve to be in!" the Country Diva snapped.

The blonde sneered, chuckling a little. "Oh, Mickie. Mickie, Mickie, Mickie. You should've seen this coming all along. Chris never stopped loving me, even after we broke up. Remember when he wanted me to tag along to that high school reunion of his with you guys? Key word: WANTED. We had something totally special, and I INTEND to get him back. So uh, why don't you just go back to the farm and take care of your horses?"

"Bitch, I should've never trusted you to begin with! You were never my friend." the brunette shook her head scornfully.

"Hey I liked you, Mickie, I really did. And I sincerely valued our friendship, but when the matter is with Sabin, that's when you cross the line." the blonde said quickly, before swinging her cane towards the Diva.

She quickly ducked and sent a kick towards her injured leg, causing her to collapse to the ground, screaming in pain, and favoring her leg.

Mickie froze and looked down at the Knockout. "Vel-"

Another mischievous sneer grew on her face when she looked up and replied, "You're SO easy to fool. HAH!" she yelled, tripping Mickie down to where she roughly landed jaw-first into the coffee table.

"Oh!" she groaned, favoring her jaw before getting furious and running to attack Velvet once again. She grabbed the blonde by the hair and forcefully shoved her towards a dresser, all kinds of items from the shelf crashing down, as Velvet slid down to the ground. "Oh, screw YOU!" she screamed, throwing Mickie to where she slid across the coffee table and landed on the ground. Dazed for a moment, the brunette quickly grabbed a lamppost, and before Velvet could attack once again, Mickie swung the lamppost at her. The Knockout narrowly dodged each swing, before she leapt over the Diva, forcefully using her upper weight and her hands to hold Mickie down to the ground, as Mickie struggled and used her hands to claw at Velvet, trying to pry her off of her prone body. "Oh...you...whore!" the brunette groaned.

"You...bitch!" Velvet uttered back. But before they could kill one another, Chris walked in and caught the scene, shocked. "Whoa, what the hell's going on in here?" he demanded, rushing to the fighting women. "Hey, hey, BREAK IT UP!" he yelled, yanking Velvet off of Mickie, and pulling the Diva back up. "Now somebody tell me what the hell you two were fighting about!"

Mickie glanced at Chris and shook herself out of his grasp, walking to the other side of the room.

Velvet was still staring bullets through Mickie. "...Nothing." she finally answered, breathing heavily. "Chris, I heard about the meeting, what happened?"

He sighed and replied, "Vel, I know that you won't be very thrilled with this, but...I've chosen to stay here instead of go back to Impact."

Her eyes widened and she immediately looked heartbroken. "Chris...but...what about us?"

"I know what you said, Vel, and I really took some time to think about it. But I've realized that my home is here. I can't leave everything I've worked so hard to get. I can't leave my friends. And...there are just some things that are too important to leave behind." he said quietly, turning to look at Mickie.

She continued looking back at him, crossing her arms and wiping away a tear.

"Mickie, we have to talk. I stayed here for you." he said, approaching her.

She raised her hands and backed away. "No. No, Chris. Even if you've decided to stay here because of me, nothing has changed between us. You slept with this bitch and I just can't handle this right now." her voice broke as she stormed out of the room.

Defeated and hurt, he turned back around to find an equally hurt and pissed Velvet. "Jamie..."

"Oh, just stop, Chris. So now that you had just confessed your undying love for Mickie, she storms off, and suddenly I'M the rebound girl? I can't believe you did this." she teared up, grabbing her cane and her things, storming out next. "And DON'T follow me, either!"

Well, his night had turned from great to horrible in just a matter of minutes. Angrily shaking his head, he cried, "Damn it!" while tossing aside the coffee table in both frustration and distress.

* * *

Later that evening, Alex and AJ had returned from their night of celebration and fun, and were now on the way to the gang's hotel room. "Ah, Alex, slow down, I'm slipping!" the tiny Diva cried, trying to balance herself while Alex carried her on his back.

"Sorry, sorry! But the sooner we get back to our room, the sooner we can have our own little private celebration-" he stopped once both he and AJ saw Chris miserably sitting outside of their hotel room door.

Their expressions fell, when Alex let his girlfriend down and the two rushed to their friend.

"Chris?" he asked.

"Hey, hey, what's wrong?" she asked softly.

He slowly looked back and forth between the two. "Well, I walked in to find Mickie and Velvet beating the living hell out of each other, I split them up, tried to tell Velvet that I was staying here and that I stayed here just for Mickie, but Mickie still hated me, and now so does Velvet. I went after them, but got locked out of the room. So here I am." he said flatly.

"Oh, sweetie..."AJ gave him a hug. "It's going to be ok. We're here for you."

"That's right, man. Just grab your things cause you're staying in here with the two of us." Alex agreed.

"But what about the girls?" he questioned.

"They're your problem right now, dude, I think it's best to stay away from them for a little while. Now's the time when you're gonna need your best friends." Shelley replied, leading him inside. "C'mon."

Later...

The three were sitting in a circle on the floor between the two beds, sharing a large bowl of popcorn and sharing their thoughts.

"Chris, I gotta tell you something." announced AJ.

"Yeah?"

"That day when I had the flu and was stuck in bed, I heard everything that Velvet was saying to you. You guys thought that I was asleep at the time, but I wasn't. I saw everything, how you were looking at her, how you unintentionally felt her up. I saw it in your eyes, Chris, I knew that you had felt something for her at the time." she revealed.

"Well, if it's any consolation, I'm glad that it was you who found out first, cause I can trust you. If it were Alex, though...hell, the whole tri-state area would know in the first 15 minutes." the Detroit native smirked towards his best friend.

"You know what, dipwad, for that comment, I'm going to delete your game stats on Call of Duty, how about that?" Alex demanded.

"NO! Come on, man, I've worked so hard for those high scores! It was the only proof I had of ever defeating you in any game...cleanly!"

"Cause I'm so good that you've resorted to cheating in order to try and beat me. How sad, Sabin." he smirked.

He tossed some popcorn back at him. "Oh, shut up!"

AJ laughed. "I am SO glad that you two are staying here. I don't think I can live without your fighting."

"Well, baby, we can't live without you, either." Alex smiled, holding her in his arms and giving her a kiss.

Chris smiled on the outside, but on the inside he had felt jealous, missing the way that he held Mickie in his arms in the same exact way. "It just isn't the same without Mickie, though."

The two looked down and nodded. "Why do I feel like such a horrible friend?" asked AJ. "We've been keeping this secret from her the whole time, and she doesn't even know that WE already knew. Mickie doesn't deserve to suffer like this at all."

"You're right. Mickie's a part of the Guns, we're all supposed to be honest with each other and in on these kinda things together. I just wonder if we should ever tell her that we knew all along." added Shelley. "How's she gonna take it? Is she gonna hate April and I, too?"

"Mickie could never hate you guys, the only one she hates is me, and she has every right to. I'm just afraid that things between us will never be the same again." Chris said in a low voice.

"No, Chris, don't say that. Mickie can't hate you, she's pissed, but she doesn't hate you." the Diva said, putting her hand over his.

"Exactly. And besides, April and I will make sure that this won't be the end of you two. We'll do whatever we can to try and get Mickie back for ya. Sounds good?" asked Alex.

The tag team specialist nodded and grinned. "You two f-ing rule for this."

"You're stuck with us forever, dude, just be used to it!" he chuckled in return.

"Yes, Sabin, you cannot get rid of us! Now come here and give us a hug!" AJ laughed.

"We can do better than that. Alex, PILE ON HER!" he shouted before both he and Alex playfully tackled down the tiny Diva, while the three of them laughed.

...

In the middle of the night, the three were sleeping, with AJ and Alex cuddled on one bed, and Chris on the other one. The bed that he used to share with Mickie, and the same bed that he had once screwed Velvet in. With these thoughts running though his head, he was unable to get any sleep. On the other side of the room, AJ had tossed and turned, hearing some muffled sniffling sounds from the other bed. She gently and silently climbed out of her bed, making sure not to wake Alex, and tiptoed towards Chris. "Hey. Chris, you okay?" she whispered.

He sniffled and wiped away a tear. "Hmm? Oh yeah, I'll be fine. I'm uh, sorry that I woke you."

She was heartbroken to see the pain written all over his face. "No need to apologize, bro. I know you miss her. We all do."

"I've never hurt this much before, AJ. How do I make it stop?" he shook his head.

"Hold on a sec." she said, rushing to grab her Pikachu plushie. "Here, sleep with him tonight. I know this sounds corny, but I always have good dreams whenever I sleep with him. I just hope he helps you in the same way that he helps me." she smiled.

He smiled back and looked over the plushie. "Aw, thanks, sis, I'm gonna need it. But what about you?"

"Oh, I have Alex, I'll be totally fine." she nodded, before combing back his hair and giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Now get some sleep, you'll need it. I love ya, bro."

He smiled. "I love ya too, sis." Once AJ had climbed back into bed with Alex, Chris looked over the plushie and chuckled a little bit, placing it beside him as he slowly but surely drifted off to sleep.


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

The next day, both AJ and Alex needed to hear from the other side of the argument - from both Mickie and Velvet. Still not getting any texts or such from Mickie, it took AJ hours to find her, but after a while, she managed to find her friend in one of her favorite places - the mall. The tiny Diva caught the Country Diva sitting by herself at the cafe, absentmindedly stirring her straw through her drink. "Mickie, I've been looking all over for you!" she exclaimed, joining her.

She looked up and forced a smile. "Hi." Mickie replied quietly.

"Hi. Mickie, let's just get straight to the point. What is going on with you? You haven't spoken to any of us in days, and Alex and I are worried about you!" AJ said, taking her hands. "I'm your best friend, Mickie. You know that you can tell me anything."

She sniffled and nodded a little. "Ok. I'm sorry I haven't seen you guys in a while, but I've been too heartbroken to do anything lately."

The tiny Diva herself felt like crying for her, since she already knew what was going on.

"AJ, before the last PPV that night, Chris...told me that he had sex with Velvet." it killed her to retell.

Not knowing what to say, AJ bit her lower lip and shook her head.

"Why would he do this to me? I thought he loved me, and the whole time-no, our whole relationship turned out to be a lie! I have never fallen more in love with anyone than I have with Chris. I gave him everything, every part of me, and he chooses not to resist VELVET of all people? April, tell me what I'm doing wrong. What's so wrong with me that every guy that I fall for has to betray me in any way?" she asked, tears streaming down her face.

AJ sniffled and wiped away one of her own tears. "Oh, Mickie...nothing is wrong with you. You've done nothing wrong at all! Those guys before, they're the ones who missed out on someone beautiful, sweet, funny, thoughtful, and strong, like you." she replied, forcing a smile.

"Thanks, girlie. I just wish that Chris knew that."

"Hey, Chris does know all that! He knew what he did wrong that night, but that's why he was afraid to tell you any sooner." the Diva revealed.

Mickie raised an eyebrow and looked at her questioningly. "...How did you know that he was afraid to tell me?" she asked slowly.

She gasped, covering her mouth. "Oops." she squeaked.

"AJ, did you already know that Chris had slept with Velvet?" she demanded.

The brunette sighed. "Yes, I already knew." she whispered.

Mickie stood up and cried, "WHAT? AJ, how the hell could you? You knew all this time that he had cheated on me, and you never even bothered to tell me something this important?"

She felt herself tearing up again. "Mickie, I WANTED to tell you sooner, but I thought it'd be better for Chris to tell you himself!"

"It was WORSE hearing it from Chris!" she snapped. "What, does Alex know about this, too?"

She nodded. "He was the one who told me."

Now more betrayed than ever, the Diva let out a small sob and slowly sat back down, burying her head in her hands.

"Mickie, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry I haven't told you any sooner..." AJ reached out for her.

She swatted her hand away. "NO! So now, I'm getting screwed over by my boyfriend AND my best friends? Is this some kind of sick joke?"

"It's not a joke, Mickie. Alex and I were just looking out for you! We begged for Chris to step up and tell you everything!" AJ cried.

"God, this is so-so high school! Cheaters, friends keeping secrets from other friends, this is sick! Is there anything else you're keeping from me, AJ? What, did Chris tell you how and where he and Velvet did it? Was the sex rough? Did they go at it all night, tell me every detail!" she cried heatedly.

"No, I don't know any of that, and I don't want to know." AJ replied bitterly. "I'm sorry all of this is crashing down on you, but you have to calm down."

"No, you have no right to tell me what to do anymore! As far as I'm concerned, I have nobody left, including you and Alex." the Country Diva's voice broke.

AJ slowly shook her head and sat next to her friend, saying quietly, "Don't push away people who are worried about you and are trying to help you. Alex and I are the only close friends you have left, and we don't want to see you suffering like this."

After a pause, Mickie slowly turned to her with tear and mascara stained eyes, before breaking down into her friend's arms, sobbing. "It's not fair..."

April wrapped her arms around her, soothingly roaming a hand up and down her back. "Shh. It's gonna be all right, sweetie. Look, I know that you're pissed with Chris right now, but his heart is literally broken without you. I've never seen him this miserable before, and it's killing me to see you guys so split apart. I mean, you don't hate him, do you?"

She looked up. "I could never hate him. But despite what he did to me...I still love him."

"Then try and talk to him again. He chose to stay here for you, after all." the tiny Diva smiled a little.

"I can't do that. I'm nowhere near ready to forgive him. But you know who I really do hate right now? Velvet Sky. And that bitch must pay." Mickie replied, heatedly staring into space.

* * *

Meanwhile, Velvet had spent the day at the local park, where she was miserably sitting on the swings, lazily kicking her good leg through the sand. "Careful, don't want to get sand stuck in your shoe." Alex announced, strolling up to her.

She looked up. "Oh, hey, Alex. What are you doing here and how did you find me?"

He casually leaned against a pole. "I just did, and I came here to tell you that I'm mad at you."

"Oh? What have you got against me to be mad at me about?"

"It's what you and Chris did to Mickie." he replied, turning to her. "I know that you egged him on to sleep with you."

"Wha-how did you know that?" she asked, nervous.

"Well, I first overheard it from Ziggler in the guys' locker room, and then Chris finally told me the rest. You knew that he loved Mickie and that she loved him, but NO! You have to grab Chris for yourself, without seeing who else is at risk, am I right?" he asked back.

"Alex, look, I can't help it! I've never fallen out of love with him after we broke up, and every time I see him kissing Mickie, or having his hands all over her, I feel so..so angry inside! I needed to have him back with me." the blonde explained.

"So basically, the only reason you even came here to join us was to get back with Chris?" he asked again. "Hell, is your injury even real? Cause if it isn't, you'd be basically skipping out on your job, and I could call Dixie, tell her the truth, and she'd fire you in a hot minute."

Shooting a death glare at him, she snapped, "For your information, Alex, I did NOT fake this injury! I love my job way too much to just bail out like that. I didn't want to spend my days recovering at home alone, so that's why I chose to come with you guys. But you were right about one thing. Part of me did come back for Chris."

"And you were just pretending to be friends with Mickie."

"No, I wasn't. I may be jealous of her, but I really liked her as a friend. But now, things have obviously changed." she sighed. "Now, I've lost them both."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Mickie and I aren't friends anymore, and after finding out that Chris had decided to stay here with her instead of coming back to Impact, I've lost him, too."

As a reply, Alex picked up a handful of sand and said, "Y'know, sand is kind of like a relationship, whether it be friendship or a romantic one. See, you hold it open hand, and the wind will easily blow it away. You hold it tightly, and it'll still sift away through your hands. Same thing for a relationship, if you tend to be so relaxed, not holding onto it, problems will eventually come and the relationship is as good as gone. If you hold on too tight to the relationship, it'll go, too. Too much of something isn't a good thing." he explained.

Velvet studied him thoughtfully. "Wow, I never thought of that. So, you're saying that I should stop holding on so tightly to Chris and just...let go?"

He nodded. "If that's how you want to put it."

"I don't know if I can, Alex. I still love him like mad, and Chris told me himself that he loved me, too! I can't end this so quickly."

"Whatever, Vel, it's your choice. Don't think about who else you're hurting, though." he replied, turning away.

"Alex, wait!"

He turned back.

"Um...how did Ziggler know about my sleeping with Chris?" she asked slowly.

"Well, apparently, he and his little group got ahold of this tape that Dave had found, a recording of you guys doing the dirty. Chris mentioned that Dave was holding that tape against him, saying that if he had intentionally lost our match at the last PPV, Dave wouldn't show the tape to the entire roster." he explained.

She gasped. "How the hell did Dave manage to get ahold of that tape, I had it hidden in my purse!"

"Wait, you KNEW about that tape? Hell, maybe that other story that I heard was a lie, how do I know that YOU didn't purposely set that camera in the room that night? You wanted to record that hot night with him, to view again and again for years to come?" Shelley demanded.

"NO!" she cried, shocked. "That camera was PLANTED in that room, I just happened to find it, and I tried to hide that tape. I didn't want it to get loose. Dave didn't show that tape to anyone else, did he?"

"Hmm, nope, just to his little friends. But still, Vel, think about what I said. Don't create a bigger mess than you've already created." Alex finished, before heading off.

Velvet watched him leave, before picking up a handful of sand and letting the breeze blow it away. "I can't just let go." she whispered. "This is all Mickie's fault, and she's going to pay."


	26. Chapter 26

**_AN: Most of this chapter's based off an old Family Matters episode that I loved a while ago, so uh, enjoy!_**

* * *

**Chapter 26**

Back in the gang's hotel, Chris miserably lied on the bed, channel flipping while thoughts of both Mickie and Velvet ran through his mind. He loved Mickie with all of his heart, but there was no way that he could deny his lingering feelings for Velvet that had never seemed to leave him. Plus, each show on TV that he flipped through seemed to have smiling, happy couples frolicking around, and he was DEFINITELY not in that kind of mood. Finally, he stopped when he caught an old mystery movie on, one from the 1940s.

"Ah, nothing like a good murder mystery to make you forget about your troubles. It'd be totally awesome to be in one of these things." Chris said, mentally inserting himself into the movie...

...

_Detroit, 1946..._

In a small, dark office, Chris, dressed in a white dressy shirt, dark pants, suspenders, with a black tie and a fedora hat to top it off, casually leaned back in his chair, trying to clear his thoughts. The thing was, he couldn't really think due to the loud saxophone that was playing in the background. Irked, he opened one eye and turned to Kaitlyn, who was sitting at her secretary's desk and obnoxiously playing the instrument.

"Hey, hey, Katie! Knock it off with the sax, will ya?" Chris demanded.

She stopped abruptly, gave him a look, and went back to her desk.

Chris VO: _"Allow me to introduce myself. The name's Sabin. Chris Sabin."_ He casually tossed his fedora towards a coat rack, but it missed and fell on top of another pile of fedoras.

_"People have known me to be sort of a P.I. - Private Investigator, for those who don't know." _he continued, putting on another fedora. _"That night, business was going pretty slow, until..."_

When he made another attempt to successfully toss his fedora onto the coat rack, he missed once the sounds of drums spurred him out of his thoughts. Then, a silhouette of a woman appeared outside of the door, seductively swaying her hips to the beat of the drums. Chris looked on, wide eyed. The woman, who wore bright red lipstick, a form fitting white dress with a large hat to top it off, slowly entered the room, and posed by the door, the drum beat stopping with her sultry stare. She continued looking at him while she swayed herself towards the chair, the drums stopping again once she sat down and crossed her legs. She turned to Kaitlyn. "I'd like to see...Chris Sabin." the brunette said in a breathy tone.

The blonde gave her a look and popped her gum. "And WHO the heck are ya?"

She pushed back her hair and tilted up her hat. "Mickie. Mickie James." she introduced.

"Hmm. I'll see if he's available." Kaitlyn replied, still eying her down. Even though both she and Chris were in the same room, she buzzed Chris on the other side.

He answered the buzzer. "What's up, Katie?"

"There's a Miss James here." she replied.

"Oh? Hold on a sec." he said coolly, before rushing to put on yet ANOTHER fedora hat, grabbing a mirror, smiling, and clicking his tongue while he made sure that he looked good enough for her. Then, he answered calmly, "K, bring her in."

Kaitlyn walked over and placed another chair in front of Chris's desk, when the drum beats resumed and Mickie seductively sauntered herself towards her seat. The drums stopped once she sat down. Chris smiled at her, but then turned to Kaitlyn, who was still standing there. "Uh, Katie? This meeting might take a while."

She pouted. "So when do you want me back?" she asked innocently.

"...December." he answered.

The blonde huffed and stomped out of the room. When the two were alone, Chris said, "Hi. People around here know me as...Chris Sabin."

She puffed out her lower lip and replied, "Well, people around here know me as...Mickie James."

Chris VO: _"The first thing I knew upon seeing Mickie was that she was no ordinary babe. Silky, golden hair, a beautiful face, and curves to die for. Ohh...what a hottie."_

He was so enamored with her that he leaned too far back in his chair and fell over.

Mickie raised an eyebrow.

He quickly stumbled back upright, fixing himself up, and clumsily placing his fedora back on, before casually replying, "Sorry about that. You were saying?"

"I need your help, Sabin. I need it bad. Really bad." she said in a sultry tone. She leaned over towards him, thrusting her chest towards him and whispered, "...Desperately..."

His eyes widened and his fedora literally flew off of his head in a rush.

"I'm so scared, Sabin. Someone out there is trying to kill my friend. I don't know what to do about it!" she continued.

"I see. Tell me, sweetheart. What's your friend's name, why do they want to kill her, and who do you like in the NFL today?" he asked, standing up and sitting on his desk.

"Velvet Sky, I have no idea, and the Dallas Cowboys." she answered.

"Velvet Sky? Why would anyone want to kill her? And for the record, the Detroit Lions are the best." he replied.

"Sorry, I don't know, and I still like the Cowboys." she retorted. "So, what do you say? Will you help to protect my friend and bet $20 on the next Super Bowl?"

He smirked. "You're on, sister."

She stood up. "Good. You start at 8 PM tonight at the club that my friend's performing at tonight. The Haunted Star." she stepped closer to him and whispered, "Don't be late."

The drums resumed again once she sauntered out of the room, blowing him a kiss before she headed off.

Chris VO: _"What a babe. Hot on the outside, but cool on the inside. But one thing about her just kept me wondering - where the HELL does she keep those drums?"_

* * *

Later that night, Chris headed to the local nightclub in Detroit, the Haunted Star, where Velvet Sky was currently singing one of her hit songs. She wore a sparkly pink dress, had her hair in an updo, and looked absolutely beautiful in the spotlight and on stage.

_"Once my lover, now my friend_

_What a cruel thing to pretend_

_What a cunning way to condescend_

_Once my lover, and now my friend_

_Oh, you creep up like the clouds_

_And you set my soul at ease_

_Then you let your love abound_

_And you bring me to my knees..."_

Chris had arrived to the place, looking around to find Mickie, where she, in a gold, sparkly dress, turned to find him and approached him, while Velvet was finishing up onstage.

_"Yeah I'm a shadowboxer baby, _

_I wanna be ready for what you do_

_And I been swinging around me 'cause_

_I don't know when you're gonna make your move..."_

The crowd applauded for the blonde when she curtseyed onstage and stepped down to join Mickie and Chris.

"Hello, Mickie, darling." she smiled, as the two shared air kisses on each cheek.

"Hello, Velvet." she greeted.

"So, how'd I sound up there?"

"Marvelous as always, sweetheart." Mickie smiled.

Chris eyed Velvet down and couldn't help the smile forming on his face.

VO: _"And I thought that Mickie was the only bombshell in this town. Velvet was, how should I put it...a Class A Knockout. She had the looks, the voice, and the charms to make any guy fall under her spell. But there was one thing that I didn't catch about her. Something that I couldn't just put my finger on yet."_

Velvet eyed down Chris and smiled, approaching him and running a hand down his chest. "And who is this gorgeous hunk of man?" she asked.

VO: _"That's when it hit me - She had good taste."_

Chris smirked and flashed her a smile in return.

"This is Chris Sabin." Mickie announced. "The private investigator that I told you about."

"Ah, yes, I've heard about you. So it seems that I need protection from somebody. Can...you be that guy to protect me?" Velvet asked cutely, running a finger down his jawline.

"Huh huh...baby, if I wasn't here to protect you, then my name wouldn't be Slim Shady, P.I." he smirked.

"...I thought your name was Chris Sabin." Velvet questioned, confused.

"Uh...yeah, I am." he paused. "SO! You two continue with your nightly activities while I do my job and act _conspicuous_!" he announced, with a dramatic effect.

VO: _"So for the next few hours, I inspected the joint, looking for any unusual criminal activity. And lo and behold, I found a lot more than I expected..."_

Chris had later approached AJ Lee, who was sitting at the bar, chatting with another guest. She was wearing a silver gown with white heels, with her hair in a curly updo.

"Miss Lee?" he asked.

She turned to him, eying him down. "Yeah? Who says?" she asked flatly and bitterly.

"Well, your friend Velvet's done such a great job with this joint!" he exclaimed.

"Oh? And you think that I couldn't?" she demanded.

"What are you saying-"

"Is THAT what you're saying?" she snapped.

"NO!" he cried, startled at her outburst.

"YES, you are!"

"NO!"

"You think that I'm nothing, a nobody." she said, her eyes piercing into his. "Well hear this - I am a person, and I have feelings, and...and I have a real nose. Velvet got hers redone under the knife, so HA!"

Chris gave her a look and shook her head.

VO: _"Jeez. Who the hell dropped a scorpion in her bra?"_

Next, Alex Shelley, dressed in a black dressy shirt, a loose black tie, and dark jeans (even though jeans really weren't around back in the 40s) approached AJ. "Hey, babe. Would you be a dear and hand me some money to play the numbers?" he asked, flashing her a smile.

She snapped at him, "Oh, WHO do I look like? The Bank of AJ?"

Startled, he turned away, when Chris approached him next. "Excuse me, sir. You wouldn't happen to be a friend of Mickie, would you?" he asked.

"Well, I'm wearing his underwear, hahahaha!" he laughed at his own joke.

Chris and AJ exchanged unimpressed looks.

Later...

Chris strolled around the place, looking for more suspicious activity, when he slowly walked past Officer Phil Brooks, aka, CM Punk.

"Chris Sabin..." Punk told him, eying him down.

"Officer Punk..." he replied, before they both whipped around at the same time, as if they were about to attack one another. They strolled around one another for a few more moments, until Punk asked, "What are you doing in these parts of town?"

"Just here to get some curly fries with a side dish of information." he replied slyly.

"...What?" Punk asked blankly.

"Never mind."

"Well, I don't like you, man. Cause wherever you go, trouble is guaranteed to follow. You follow?" asked the officer.

He adjusted his fedora. "I follow! But just remember this: we're on the same side of justice. We're the good guys! There's room for you and room for me, but let's be honest here, you take up a lot more room than me." Chris replied.

Punk fumed. "Are you calling me FAT? You-you...LIE!" he replied, casually tossing away his Pepsi and grabbing a diet one instead as he headed off.

Soon after, the drums resumed again, signaling that Mickie was approaching. He looked around the place to see where the hell those damned drums were coming from, until he called, "Mickie!"

She smiled. "Here I am, Sabin." she said, grabbing two drinks and handing one to him. "Care for a cold one? One to wet your whistle?"

"Don't mind if I do." he replied, taking a sip of his drink.

"You know how to whistle, don't ya?" she asked.

"Of course! You just put your lips together and go...pff!"

She slowly turned her head and brushed off her cheek before smiling again and saying, "I'll catch you around, handsome."

The drums resumed as she sauntered off towards the bar, Chris smiling while he took a gander at her ass for good measure.

VO: _"Whew, that Mickie J had a chokehold on my heart. In fact, my head was spinning, my pulse was pounding, the room was spinning..."_

He really did see the room spinning, though, and his vision was getting blurry.

_"Wait! My love for Mickie isn't doing this to me! Somebody had spiked my drink!"_

The P.I. stumbled around and almost fell on this lady's lap, before he stumbled back up, but then collapsed to the ground, his vision finally blacking out.

...

Hours later, a knocked out Sabin was sleeping over a table, instinctively slapping himself over the face to wake him up.

_VO: "When I came to, I felt like someone had done a few facebusters on my head."_

He turned around to find the whole entire club empty, except for Velvet sitting at another table with her head propped over her hands, and a blank stare on her face.

"Hey, Velvet! What happened around here? You know what time it is?" he asked.

But he got no response from her.

"Vel?" he tapped her shoulder, to where she slumped over the table, revealing a knife shown plunged into her back!

Shocked, he gasped in wide eyed horror. "Oh, my God!"

Natalya, the local paper girl, ran in the place calling, "Extra, extra, read all about it! Velvet Sky found stabbed to death!" she exclaimed, handing Chris a newspaper. Oddly, the picture in the paper had shown Chris holding the newspaper with Natalya standing beside him and Velvet still leaning over the table, in that exact moment. Puzzled, he looked at the paper, and then looked into space. The mystery was on, and he needed to get answers.

* * *

VO: _"One week later, on a dark and stormy night, I managed to gather everyone at the Haunted Star, where the murder had first happened..."_

AJ, Alex, Officer Punk, Chef Dolph Ziggler, Eve, Deputy John Laurinitis, and Mickie were all rounded up at the nightclub sipping tea, with Chris eying them all down.

"Mister Sabin, it's a dark and stormy night." Officer Punk announced the obvious. "Why have you rounded all of us up here at the Haunted Star?"

"Because you all have two things in common." he announced.

"Oh yeah? And what's that?" asked Alex.

"You all knew Velvet Sky, and you all had reason to kill her!" he announced.

*Cue dramatic music!*

The group of people looked around at one another, baffled.

"Hey, you're off base here." Deputy Laurinitis said, standing up.

"Velvet was loved!" Eve announced.

The P.I. approached her. "Oh, really? Well, how did you feel about Velvet...AJ?" he demanded, quickly approaching her and grabbing onto her shoulder. She spat out her tea.

"Hey, she was my good friend! I...sorta liked her." she shrugged.

The rest of the gang exchanged confused looks.

"Oh, you were jealous of Velvet!" Chris continued, flashing back...

VO: _"You had the money to invest in the nightclub, but soon after, Velvet became rich and famous, and the club had belonged to her!"_

_Chris was standing behind AJ at the club, watching the younger woman look jealous towards the blonde, who was smiling and letting all of the guys admire herself._

_Back to today..._

"And what did YOU get? Nothing, nada, zilch, Zippity-do-da!" Chris continued.

AJ silently fumed and placed her tea down, before standing up and facing him. "Just what are you saying? That I killed Velvet?" she demanded.

"YES!" he pointed an accusing finger at her.

But right then and there, thunder sounded, and the lights had blacked out. Then, a gunshot was heard!

"AAH!" everyone screamed.

The lights flashed back on, revealing AJ lying motionless on the floor.

Shocked, they all gasped in shock. Chris was baffled. "Ok...so AJ DIDN'T kill Velvet." he announced. "But how about you, ALEX?" he turned to Shelley, who looked wide eyed and whipped around to face him.

"What?" he asked, startled.

"That's right." Chris flashed back to that fateful night in the club...

VO: _"You were there, playing the numbers, but Velvet stopped you from doing so. And you were mad at her for ruining your fun."_

_Alex had been swindling people there out of their money, while Velvet sternly stopped him and ordered for him to stop. Chris was watching the scene unfold from behind a plant._

_Back to today..._

"You WERE mad at her, weren't you?" Chris asked Shelley.

"Well, yeah, but I was doing all the dirty work and she had the nerve to ask me for 90% of the action! It wasn't fair, I tell ya!" he cried.

"No, of course it wasn't fair...but YOU didn't have to kill her!" he pointed an accusing finger at him.

Once again, thunder boomed, the lights blacked out, and another gunshot sounded!

"AAH!" everyone screamed.

The lights flickered back on, revealing his body lying motionless on the floor next to AJ's!

The remaining guests stood there in wide mouthed shock.

"And of course, you didn't kill her!" Chris announced, surprised that he was wrong again.

Deputy Laurinitis stood up and announced, "Wait a minute! Everytime he accuses someone, they die!"

Sabin whipped around. "Which brings me to YOU, Deputy!"

"NO!" he cried, gunning for the door.

Chris rushed to stop him, shoving him back into the room. "Not so fast, twinkle toes!"

He gave him a dirty look.

"You're on your way to making headlines again."

He took the cigar out of his mouth. "What are you talking about?"

Chris flashed back once again...

_"You've been investigated for running a city-wide extortion scheme. If a business didn't pay, well, they'd suffer a little accident..."_

_Back to today..._

"Well...well, Velvet was making millions, it wouldn't have killed her to share some of the profits with me." Johnny Ace replied.

"Well, you killed her because she DIDN'T share the wealth!" Sabin accused, pointing a finger at him.

The sequence continued. Thunder, gunshot, screams, and the light flickered on to reveal the Deputy lying motionless on his back on the floor.

Gasping, the P.I. was shocked that he was wrong AGAIN! "Oh, come on! You know, whoever's doing all this could be nice enough to wait until I'm finished!" he complained.

Mickie stood up. "This is crazy!" she cried, swaying her way across the room, the drums following her.

"MICKIE, sit back down, how's a guy supposed to think with all those drums?" he demanded.

She quickly scurried back to her chair with the drums going at a fast beat to match her speed. She hurriedly sat back down.

Next, he looked around the room to find Eve. "Eve!"

"Hey, sugar." she smiled sweetly.

"So earlier, you pointed out that Velvet was loved. Did you love her?"

"No, of course not." she said blatantly, flashing back.

Eve VO: _"Velvet was nothing but a cheap whore who stole my man!"_

_At the club that night, Eve was chatting with none other than Deputy Laurinitis, when Velvet cut in and began flirting with him instead. The Latina was PISSED._

Chris VO: _"Deputy Laurinitis?"_

Eve VO: _"That's right! And she convinced him to place me in a Whorehouse, to make me a prostitute!"_

_Velvet had kissed Laurinitis the Crooked Cop on the cheek, while Eve tried to attack her, to no avail. Chris, meanwhile, hid under their table and jotted down some notes. _

_Back to today..._

"Aha! So Velvet didn't only take your man-and by the way, the fact that you were dating Laurinits over there is just gross-" he began.

She gave him a look. "He was my Sugar Daddy."

Chris made a face. "Yuck. But not only did she take your man, she tried to take your prostitution money, too!"

"Hey, now you listen to me! Now I admit that I've had harsh words with Velvet, and that I almost tried to rip her hair out, but I chose not to! Because I wanted to be the better and bigger woman. I swear that I didn't kill her!" she announced, dead serious.

"Hmm. Oh, Eve. If we could only believe you." Sabin shrugged.

Thunder, blackout, gunshot, screams!

The lights flashed back on to find the Latina slumped over motionless in her chair.

He perked up. "And we DO believe you!" he changed his mind. "We REALLY do!"

Punk, Chef Ziggler, and Mickie all looked around the room, worried about who was the next to die. Chris had approached Ziggler next.

"Chef Ziggler! Tell me, does this contract look familiar to you?" he asked, showing him a paper with the signature signed, _"Atsa Me!"_

Ziggler spoke in a fake Italian accent and replied, "Uh yes, I-a signed it when I-a came to a-America."

"Did you know that when you signed this, that it was a LIFETIME contract?" he asked.

"NO! I have-a the no idea!" Ziggler flashed back...

Ziggler VO: _"I tell her that I'm-a tired of this low wage-a paying, dead-a-beat job! I ask her to give-a me my own-a restaurant, but she say-a no!"_

_Ziggler was shown arguing with Velvet, waving his butcher knife around, until she snatched it away from him and spanked him with it._

_Back to today..._

Chris just looked at the Chef. "...You have a little drool right there." he told him, using a napkin to dap it away.

Ziggler chuckled. "Oh, uh, thank you-a very much."

"Sure. SO! What basically happened was that Velvet destroyed your lifelong dream! And that's-a why you killed her!" Chris accused next.

Thunder boom, blackout, gunshot, screams!

The lights flickered back on to find Chef Ziggler lying face down on the floor.

Shocked again, Chris shook his head in disbelief. "Damn it, I would've bet money on that one!" he cried.

Punk and Mickie looked at one another.

"Soo...Officer Punk!" he turned to him.

Exasperated, he sighed and threw his arms up in the air.

"It all comes down to you."

"So you say. I didn't kill anyone." Punk replied, eying him down.

Chris flashed back once again...

_In the club, Punk had asked Velvet for something, to where she responded by repeatedly slapping him across the face._

Chris VO: _"Really? Laurinitis asked for you to collect the extortion money from Velvet, but not only did she refuse, she showed you..."_

_Back to today..._

He reached into his jacket pocket and whipped out a roll of film tape! "...THIS!"

*Cue dramatic music!*

"What's that?" asked Mickie.

"Well, Sweet Mickie, it turns out that Velvet had secretly recorded Punky's demands for money. Isn't that true, Officer Punkers?"

Punk gave him a nervous look. "Well...well, she was gonna leak it to the press! My livelihood, my reputation, and my career would've been shot!"

"AND SO YOU KILLED HER!" Chris cried, knowing that he was absolutely right this time.

Thunder...

"NO!" cried Punk.

...blackout, gunshot, screams!

The lights flickered back on to find Punk lying motionless on the floor on his back, with his legs propped up on the edge of a chair. Shocked, Chris looked up to find Mickie holding a gun! "MICKIE! I should've known it was you!" he cried.

She pursed her lips and pointed the gun towards him. "Oh, you knew? Hehe, then why'd you let me shoot all these people?" she smiled.

"I uh, wanted to keep up the suspense." he replied.

"Well, now it's your turn, Sabin. Time to die." the sultry woman had an evil gleam in her eye.

Stunned, Chris looked around the room, thinking of what to do next.

VO: _"There I was, face to face with the symbol of death. Was this the end of me? Would I be going six feet under? Taking that eternal nap? That siesta de bye-bye? Would I never again see the blue skies and the bright yellow sun?"_

Mickie raised an eyebrow.

"What are you waiting for?" he asked.

"The Voice Over to finish." she announced.

Soon after, Chris gave her a look and distracted her by pointing towards the door. She turned around for a split second, allowing him to try and wrestle the gun away from her. Mickie fought back and tried her hardest not to let go, but Chris got the upper hand and grabbed the weapon away from her. He turned to her, impressed. "Damn, you're strong."

The brunette pouted. "Gosh darn it, Sabin, you got me! I was the one who killed Velvet." she confessed.

"Why did you?"

She looked into space and sauntered towards him, the drums following her every step. "I wanted to inherit the Haunted Star. And I killed the rest of these people here because I was the last in line."

Sabin blinked, and looked around the room before turning back to her. "Oh, honey, you're a cold one. Cold, yet you're so hot that you seem to melt me down every time you send a look my way." he replied, smirking.

"What are you saying, Chris?"

"I'm saying, I'm crazy for you, Sweet Mickie. You're so poisonous, but I don't care, you could give me the love bite every time and I wouldn't want an antidote. I don't want to be cured from you." Chris replied, approaching her.

She smiled a little. "So...you're going to let me go free?"

"I'm giving you an ultimatum. You could either run away with me, and we could spend the rest of our young lives together, or...you could spend the rest of your life in jail. Your choice." he announced.

Mickie gave him an honest smile, before heading to the phone and dialing a number.

Puzzled, Chris looked at her.

"Hello, Detroit police?" she asked with a smile.

Chris gasped, both insulted and shocked.

"I just killed seven people." she casually confessed, hanging up. About two seconds later, two cops had arrived to the club, each took Mickie by the arm, and dragged her out of the place.

Meanwhile, Chris was shocked beyond belief. "Oh, come on, Mickie, that's so mean!" he called from out of the doorway. "You prefer JAIL than being with me?"

VO: _"So that's how it all ended. I never saw Sweet Mickie ever again. Some days, I just can't help but to wonder, though...Where the HELL did she hide those drums? Either way, I always shed a tear every time I think about the lovely but lethal Mickie James..."_

* * *

Back to reality, the movie that Chris had barely paid any attention to was over, as he himself was frozen in shock at his own little day dream. He didn't even notice that Alex was there, waving his hand in front of his face to grab his attention. "Hey, Chris? CHRIS, wake up!" Then, he slapped him. "DUDE!"

"Ow!" he cried, snapping out of it. "Alex? When did you get here?"

"Sabin, I've been here trying to get your attention for the last 5 minutes! What's wrong with you?" he asked.

"Oh, dude, I had the craziest daydream. We were all in this mystery flick, where I was this Private Investigator, Mickie ended up murdering Velvet, she had shot and killed all of you guys, and I offered her a life of freedom, but she chose to go to JAIL over being with me!" he cried.

Alex just stared at him before he bursted out laughing. "Have you been munching on those special brownies again?"

"Shut up, dipwad, it isn't funny! Even in my fantasies, Mickie hates me. I'm so bummed out, man." he said, tossing his remote aside.

"Aw, Sabin, it was only a daydream, not real life. The real Mickie would never murder anyone, and she does not hate you." Alex replied, placing an arm around his shoulder.

"But she'd definitely murder Velvet. I can guarantee that."

"Hmm. True, true. Well, the most we can do is to keep those two away from one another until Velvet's totally healed and has to head back. And besides, I don't want anyone being sad or miserable tomorrow, since tomorrow marks the day that yours truly was brought into this cruel, cold world." he smiled.

Chris smiled along. "Aw, don't think that I forgot about your birthday, dude! And don't give me any lip about it, we are throwing you a party!"

"No! I hate surprise parties, those are so cheesy!" he argued.

"Well I can't tell you if it's going to be a surprise party or not cause it'd ruin the damn surprise, you moron." he laughed.

"Why must you be so mean and rude to the-almost birthday boy?" Alex pouted.

"Hey, tomorrow, I'll be nice to ya, but until then..." Chris began, hitting him over the head with a pillow. "You're getting a party, and you'll like it."

He laughed and tossed the pillow back at him. "You jerk." he chuckled, shaking his head.


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

The next day was May 23rd, and Alex's birthday. Despite his wishes, Chris, AJ, and Mickie planned to give him quite a special bash...

That morning, he was still asleep in bed, but stirred awake with a kiss from AJ.

"Mm...hey, baby, you're up early." he smiled.

"No, babe, you're up late. It's 11:30 in the a.m." she smirked back.

"Well...well, I'm the birthday boy, so I deserve to sleep in late." he pouted, laying back down and pulling her down with him.

She giggled. "You sure do. Happy birthday, Shells." she gave him a kiss.

"Aw, thanks, April. I feel so damned old, though. Can you believe that I'm 29 already? One more year from now, and I'll be going through midlife crisis like Chris did when he turned 30."

AJ laughed. "Oh, come on, neither you or Chris are even close to being old! You have another 50 years before you grow wrinkles, get bags under your eyes, and your hair turns gray!"

He gave her a look. "You really think that all that's going to happen to me?" he cried, scared.

The Diva wrapped her arms around his waist. "Alex, you don't have to worry. I'll still be as much in love with your handsome self in 50 years as I am right now."

He smiled and kissed her forehead. "And you'll still be my sexy little Geek in 50 years, too."

"Even if I blow up like a whale and grow twice as many wrinkles?" she pouted.

"Didn't I just say that you'd still be sexy to me?" Alex smiled, wrapping her in another kiss. "I love you."

"I love you, too. And since I love you so much, I plan on throwing you the best birthday party that you've ever had, and-"

"April!"

"I will not take NO for an answer!" she smirked, getting back up, but he pulled her back down with him.

"Oh come on, don't leave. What I'd really love to do is to spend my birthday lying here with you and doing nothing else. And letting you beat me at video games."

"Aw, I'd love to do that, too, but you deserve to have a party! Now as much as I hate being let out of your reach, I have to get up and make the preparations. So let me go."

He sighed and let her up. "As you wish. Just no surprise parties, all right?"

"I'm not telling you what's going on!" AJ teased, heading out. "Oh, and I don't LET you beat me at these video games. You're just not trying hard enough."

"Hey, April, that's mean!" he laughed, tossing a pillow towards her while she laughed and scurried out of the room.

Meanwhile, Chris was in the lobby of the hotel, sipping on a drink while reading the morning newspaper, until a familiar someone took the seat across from his table. He looked up to find...

"Mickie?"

She glanced up at him and then uttered a quiet, "Chris."

He shyly looked down at his paper and then back at her, while she did the same. "So uh, how have you been?" he asked first, breaking the awkward silence.

"Fine." she shrugged.

He nodded.

More silence.

"Mickie, I can't take this anymore." he announced, tossing aside the newspaper. "Please just talk to me again, or something. I know you hate me after what I did, and you deserve to hate me, but not seeing you anymore and not talking to you is just killing me! I miss you so much."

The Diva sighed and replied, "Chris, I don't hate you."

"You don't?" he asked, surprised.

"No, it takes a lot for me to ever hate anyone, but I could never hate you."

"So, does this mean that things between us are cool now?"

"Well, if you're asking for our relationship back, then the answer is no." she shook her head.

Chris couldn't hide the disappointment on his face. "I-I understand." he said quietly.

"You cheated on me, Chris, I can't just forgive you for that so easily. I mean, how could I ever trust you again after what you did?"

"You CAN trust me, Mickie. What she and I did only happened once and only once, I swear on my life. You have to believe me."

"I believe you, but I still can't trust you just yet. You said yourself that you loved Velvet, so where does that leave me?" she asked.

"Mickie, I admit that I still have feelings for her, but the difference between her and you is that I'm absolutely CRAZY about you. Don't you understand? I'm literally a wreck without you, I've never had feelings like this for any woman before you came into my life. I love you so much, Mickie." he pleaded, taking her hand.

The brunette couldn't help but to tear up and ran a thumb across his hand. "Chris...I love you, too. I've never had feelings like this for any other guy before you, either."

"And that's why we're meant for each other. We have a bond that nobody can break."

"Except for Velvet. She's the reason why this is happening to us, and while she's still around, we can't be together."

"Mickie-"

She sniffled and got up to kiss his cheek. "I'm sorry, hun."

Before she left, he asked, "Mickie, wait. What about Alex's party tonight? You're still going to be there for him, right?"

"Of course I will, even though he lied to me just like AJ did, I've forgiven them both and I wouldn't miss his birthday party for the world." she nodded.

"So uh, I guess I'll be seeing you later then." he smiled.

She smiled back. "I guess you will."

Even though they weren't totally 100% yet, Chris was happy that they had a chance to talk and that she still loved him. Still smiling a little, he picked up his newspaper again, but didn't see an angry and irate Velvet standing in the background, watching the entire scene unfold. Before she could get a chance to talk to him, AJ skipped down and met up with him first. "Hey, Chris-well, what's gotten into you? You're all happy and smiling."

The Detroit native chuckled. "Just had a chat with Mickie. Even though we're not back together or anything, it's just nice to know that she doesn't hate me and still loves me."

The tiny Diva smiled and hugged him. "See? I told you that she never hated you! Is she still coming to the party tonight?"

"Sure is."

"Awesome. So, what should we do first to prepare?" she asked.

"Well, I've called up a few places and I got a good few deals, but I know the one place that'd be perfect for Alex. Let's swing over there first and get some work done." he replied.

"Sweet, and I've already called some of the guys and girls that we work with, and on the way there, I'll call up some of the guys and girls from Impact, too." she explained.

"All right, looks like we're off to a great start. Let's get going." Chris finished as the two headed out. Meanwhile, Velvet crossed her arms and watched the two leave, concerned about the fact that nobody had told her, and didn't invite her to the party. "Hmm. They don't want me there, huh? This is all Mickie's fault. I'm Velvet Sky, and I WILL find a way into that party, even if I have to crash it myself. Chris is mine."

* * *

Later that evening, Mickie had headed off to the park, needing to be alone to clear her thoughts before she headed to meet with AJ and Chris for Alex's party. After talking with Chris earlier, she was glad to know that although he had made that huge mistake with Velvet, he still genuinely cared about her, as much as she still cared about him. Now, the only other issue at hand was with Velvet, but she wasn't going to waste her anger on the blonde. The Country Diva was sitting near the edge of a pond, looking at her own downtrodden refection in the water. "Wow, is that really me? I look so miserable." she told herself. "I guess all of my happiness was taken away after I lost Chris."

Moments later, she saw Alex's reflection appear next to hers. "Wow, that was depressing, even to me." he announced, sitting next to her.

She smiled. "Hey, birthday boy! What are you doing here?"

"I dunno, just bored, I guess. I couldn't find Chris or April anywhere, but luckily, I've found my good friend and sister to spend some time with." he smiled, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. She smiled and leaned into him.

"Well, I'm glad that you're here, Alex, cause I've been feeling pretty down lately." she replied.

"The whole Chris/Velvet thing?"

"Yep. It's like, I WANT to forgive Chris and take him back, but I just can't because he betrayed me in the worst possible way! But I still love him so much, I just don't know what to do." she sighed.

"That's a tough situation to be in." agreed Alex. "Now, I'm sure as hell not supporting what he and Velvet did to you, but give Sabin another chance. The guy's torn up over losing you and he really wants you back."

"I-I just can't, Alex. If I forgive him so soon, it'll make me look like the weak one." the Diva shook her head. "I have to make him regret what he's done to me."

"Just don't be too hard on the guy, his heart's broken enough as it is. In fact, when you two run into one another again, try and stir up some sort of non-awkward conversation so that you two can be comfortable around one another. I hate seeing you two so split apart."

"Thanks, Shells, I'll try." she smiled, looking up at him. "But don't count out Velvet, that bitch is going down."

"Y'know, normally, I wouldn't condone violence between friends, but if you two take things to the parking lot, do you mind if I charge people to watch?" he smirked.

"Wow, you're one skeevy little bastard, aren't ya?" she laughed.

"Anything to make a quick buck!" he agreed, chuckling. "But seriously, AJ and I are sorry that we didn't tell you about Velvet any earlier. We just didn't want you to get hurt."

The brunette nodded. "I was pissed at first, but you guys were just looking out for me and I appreciate it. Thanks for the thought." she smiled.

"No prob. Soo...did you buy me any presents?" he asked eagerly.

"Maybe I did, but why should I tell you now?" she asked, smirking.

"Because there's nothing wrong with spoiling the birthday boy with an early present, so whatever it is, gimme!"

"Gimme gimme never gets, Alex!" Mickie laughed, playfully splashing some water at him.

"Oh! Did you just get my sexy hair wet? I spent 45 minutes making it perfect!" he cried.

"Oh, calm down, drama queen, that isn't wet. THIS is!" the Diva laughed, shoving him into the pond.

Gasping, he emerged from the water and laughed. "You big meanie!"

"Happy birthday." she smiled and waved.

"Happy birthday, my ass, get down here!" Alex cried, pulling her down into the water, too.

"AAH! Damn you!" she cried, splashing water at him, while he splashed water at her in return. The friends were having so much fun in the water, that they almost didn't hear Alex's phone ringing on the grass.

"Oh crap, who could that be?" he asked, shaking himself dry and picking up the phone to find a text saying,

_"Shells, meet us at Jake's Bar ASAP! Chris got himself locked in the freezer again and we need your help! Hurry!_

_-Luv, A.J. :) "_

"Aw, damn it, not again!" he cried.

Mickie rinsed out her hair. "What happened?"

"Chris and AJ were at Jake's Bar and he ended up getting locked in the freezer."

"_Again?_" she questioned. "When will he learn not to look for free alcohol back there?"

"Apparently it hasn't gotten into his somewhat hollow head just yet. We gotta get there fast, so let's swing by the hotel real quick, change into some dry clothes, and save Chris before his skin freezes off." he replied.

She couldn't help but to laugh. "Let's go!"


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**

About 20 minutes later, the two had changed into some new clothes and arrived outside of Jake's Bar.

"Ok, if we find that Chris has turned blue, then we know that there's a problem." Alex said quickly, speeding out of the car while Mickie did the same.

"I just don't understand why they'd need us to save him when there's a bar full of people here." the Diva replied.

"Well, either way, I am going to have a serious talk with him about the dangers of-" Alex stopped once the lights in the bar flashed on, streamers and balloons rained down, and everyone, including AJ and an unharmed Chris exclaimed, "SURPRISE!"

The Detroit native looked around in a pleasant kind of shock, then turning to Mickie, who was clapping and laughing along.

"Oh my God, were you in on this, too?" he asked the Country Diva.

"Maybe." she replied, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Happy b-day, Shelley!"

He smiled and turned back to his friends from both TNA and WWE, exclaiming, "Ok, even though I SPECIFICALLY said that I didn't want a surprise party, I admit, I'm touched. You guys are awesome for this, especially you two." he told AJ and Chris.

He wrapped April in a hug and gave her a kiss, before giving Chris a manly hug and kissing him on the cheek for good measure.

"DUDE!" Sabin cried, wiping off his cheek.

"So much for getting stuck in the freezer, dipwad." Shelley smirked.

"Sorry, it was the only excuse that I could come with!" he laughed.

"So, you like your surprise party, Shells?" AJ smiled. "Chris and I spent all day arranging everything for you."

He smiled at his girlfriend and gave her another kiss. "You guys are the absolute best! Thank you so much, I'm a happy boy!"

"No prob, now go on, go see your other friends!" exclaimed Chris.

"Will do! Hey Jay, Sanjay, Petey, dudes!" he exclaimed, heading off.

"Great job keeping him occupied, Mickie." AJ told her.

"Well, he came to visit me, so I didn't really do much of anything." she chuckled. "But I'm glad that Alex is happy."

The three looked to find Shelley, along with a few other guys, chugging down drinks and smashing cake in each other's faces.

"Aw, not the cake! Come on, I spent like, $100 on that!" Chris cried, exasperated. Alex approached his friend and gave him a complementary cake to the cheek. "Money well spent, my friend." he smiled, before heading back off.

The girls couldn't help but to laugh.

"Sure. Laugh it up."

AJ took a swipe of cake off his cheek and tasted it. "Yummy yum yum. Now, you two chat while I try and keep Alex under control." she smiled, before walking off into the crowd.

Mickie looked at Chris, and seeing the cake smeared all over his cheek, she stifled a giggle.

"Aw, come on, Mickie, you know you want to." he smiled.

"I do want to." the Diva replied, tasting some frosting from his cheek. "Yum!"

He laughed. "So um, seriously, Mickie I'm really glad that you decided to come."

"Of course. Alex is like my brother and there isn't anywhere else in the world I'd rather be. Plus, seeing you like this is an added bonus." the brunette replied with a grin.

"Don't laugh at me, it isn't nice!" he pouted. "But you know, I really do miss hearing your laugh. And I miss seeing your smile, and I just miss being around you."

While he brushed back a strand of her hair, she couldn't help but to feel a little guilty. He was saying all of these sweet things to her, yet still felt that she was nowhere ready to forgive him yet. "Chris...please don't say things that you don't really mean." she lightly shook her head.

Baffled, his eyes pierced into hers. "Wha? Mickie, what are you talking about, I DO mean what I said."

"You can't mean what you said if you still love Velvet. I won't be second choice, Chris. As much as I love you, you can't have another woman in your heart, which I thought was filled by me." she said tearfully, turning away.

He grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. "You are not second choice. You DO fill my heart, you have a special place there which is reserved for nobody else but you."

She teared up even more. "Like I said, Chris. Nothing between us will change as long as Velvet's tagging along with us." Mickie finished, stepping off to chat with some of her other friends. Meanwhile, Chris shook his head and grabbed a drink while sighing, "That went well."

The Diva rushed through the crowds, but didn't get a chance to stop once AJ stopped her. "Hey, Micks, did you get to chat with Chris yet?"

"Yeah, but it really didn't go so well." she shrugged.

"What? Wait, stop. What's wrong now?" asked the tiny Diva.

"Chris is just too sweet and I still can't forgive him yet. That's all it is."

"But-"

She gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "Sweetie, I love that you're concerned, but...I really don't want to talk about it right now." she said sadly, heading off.

AJ crossed her arms and sighed, defeated. Then, she smiled once again once she joined Alex. "Hey, babe, how you enjoying your party?"

He opened another drink, gave her a passionate kiss, and then went back to take a swig of his drink. "Aw, April, I'm having one hell of a time. Good cake, great friends, an awesomely geeky and beautiful girlfriend, and look at all the presents that I've gotten!" he exclaimed like an excited 5 year old.

She giggled. "Well, we all love you, Shells. Especially me."

"Aw, babe, I love you, too." he replied, giving her another kiss. "Soo...I do get a present from you?"

The Diva wrapped her arms around his neck. "Yes, you do. But the present isn't exactly..." she paused, lightly biting the rim of his ear. "...in a box. If you know what I mean."

Alex had on a seductive grin. "For someone so small and innocent, you sure are feisty and wild when you're in the mood." he chuckled. "I can't wait for my extra special, sexy present later tonight."

"And I can't wait to give it to you." the Diva smiled back, giving him another kiss. Soon after, though, they broke away to turn to the familiar blonde who had approached them.

"Hey, guys! Great party you got here, glad I showed up, even if I wasn't invited." Velvet said, smiling all the way.

"Oh, um...hey, Vel." Alex said slowly.

"Hi. Look, we're so sorry, but we only couldn't invite you here because Mickie's here and...Chris had told us about the fight that you guys had." AJ replied, twiddling her fingers.

"I totally understand why you wouldn't want to bring me here, but I'm not here to cause any trouble, I swear. I actually came to celebrate your birthday, Alex, and I wanted to apologize to Mickie." she replied.

"Oh." Alex said, surprised. "Well, all right, uh, enjoy the party then."

"I will! And before I forget..." she began, handing him a medium sized wrapped box. "Happy birthday, Shells."

"Yay! Well, thanks, Vel." he smiled.

"No prob! Now to find Mickie..." she said, heading off.

Alex was still fiddling around with his present while AJ sternly looked in Velvet's direction. "Something tells me that she really isn't here to apologize to Mickie. We need to keep an eye on her."

"But...my present!" he whined.

She pulled him by the arm. "Alex, c'mon!"

At the bartender's area, Mickie downed another drink, but to her shock, saw Velvet looking around for someone. Her eyes widened a little and her hand tightened around her glass. "Oh, hell no." she uttered, storming up.

Before the blonde could turn around, Mickie pulled her by the shoulder and whipped her around to face her. "What the hell are you doing, showing your face around here?" she demanded.

Velvet scoffed and swiped Mickie's hand off of her shoulder. "Alex is my friend and I wanted to come and wish him a happy birthday. Is that a problem?"

"You really shouldn't be here right now." the Diva said in a low voice.

"It's a free country, I can be anywhere I damn well please." the Knockout replied in a similar tone.

"You know what? No, not here. Come to the back." Mickie said, leading her to a back room and closing the door behind them.

"Oh what is it, Mickie? What are you trying to hide from everyone else that you had to lure me in here?"

"I just don't want to create a scene out there. Now listen, I don't want you here right now, so why don't you just flip that fake blonde hair of yours and beat it?" she demanded.

"You can't tell me what to do!" the Knockout exclaimed. "I'm staying here whether you like it or not! And by the way, Chris is over there on his own, and I intend to give him a surprise appearance."

Before she could leave, Mickie roughly pulled her back. "Like hell you are. You know, YOU are the reason why I can't even take Chris back. As much as I want to, I can't. If you hadn't whored yourself onto him, we'd still be together and you'd be on the next flight back to freaking Florida." the brunette said through clenched teeth.

"Did Chris say 'no' when he climbed into bed with me? Nope. Did he say no when he felt me up in all of the right places? Nope. Did he say no when he was busy making love to me? NO. And for the record, he is just as great a lover as he was when we were together before." the blonde smiled evilly.

"Shut up." Mickie uttered darkly.

"You wanna know something? That night, we did it more than once!" she exaggerated, while Mickie was getting angrier and angrier. "Yeah! And it was the hottest, most rough sex that I've ever had."

"I told you to shut up." Mickie repeated, clenching her fists.

"We did it in both beds, on the floor, against the wall, in the shower-oh, and shower sex is the best, you oughta try it sometime. Oh right, you can't! You'd have to settle for getting yourself off since you don't have a guy anymore!" she continued. "Don't worry, vibrators are pretty cheap nowadays."

Mickie answered that by punching her across the face. "SHUT UP!" she screamed, lunging for the blonde and shoving her towards a refrigerator. Velvet skidded to a stop before she could crash into the box, and then whipped around and sent Mickie stumbling back with a rough back-hand slap. With wide eyes, Mickie held her cheek and her eyes pierced into Velvet's before screaming, "Condescending BITCH! Screw YOU!"

The blonde had tossed Mickie onto an old couch that was back there, not giving her a chance to get up once Velvet pounced onto her and threw punch after punch towards the smaller Diva. Mickie was able to fight her off and kicked Velvet back to where she fell to the ground. Going to the next level, Mickie grabbed a vase and aimed it for Velvet, but the blonde gasped and ducked, barely missing the object.

She was careful to mind her bad leg, quickly getting up and crashing into another grapple with the Country Diva. Velvet got her revenge after slamming Mickie's head against a wooden crate of boxes, temporarily stunning her. Stumbling back to her feet, she tried to choke the blonde, but Velvet fought her off and shoved Mickie over a table, sending her down and shattering a few items off of the table. Before Velvet could touch her again, Mickie leapt up and headed to the door, when Velvet roughly shoved her towards the wall and clawed away at her the best way she could.

"You...are...TRASH!" she screamed, pushing her face away. "Chris is mine!"

Mickie growled and used all she had to shove the blonde off of her. "GO TO HELL!"

The two fought to the point where they both pushed themselves over another table, sliding across, and ending up onto the floor. Mickie was straddled over Velvet and let out a primal scream before throwing punch after punch at the blonde. Soon after, AJ bursted in the room and gasped upon seeing her two friends beating the crap out of one another. "Girls, girls, STOP!" she screamed, rushing to break them up. Chris and Alex had heard all the screaming and sped into the room to catch the scene, too.

"Whoa, CATFIGHT!" was all Alex could exclaim.

Chris wasn't so intrigued, though. "Whoa, ladies, knock it off!" he shouted.

AJ was still trying to pry them apart, when both Mickie and Velvet accidentally punched her in the nose at the same time!

"Aah!" she yelped, falling to the ground and covering her face.

Alex and Chris's expressions immediately fell as the two rushed to the tiny Diva. "April!-AJ!" they both cried, gently picking her up while Mickie and Velvet froze and looked on in shock.

"Oh my God, AJ!" Mickie exclaimed.

Tears rolled down her face while her hands were still covering her nose. "Oh my God, my nose! I-I think it's broken!" she uttered.

Alex wrapped her in his arms and replied, "Oh man, you've got a nosebleed. C'mon, let's get you outta here, baby. Everything's gonna be all right." He glared back at the girls before they headed off.

Chris watched his friends leave before sighing and slowly turning to look at the two women who were fighting over him.

"AJ, oh my God, we're so sorry!" Velvet called.

Mickie shoved her back and snapped, "You know, this is all your fault, blondie!"

Velvet shoved her in return and spat back, "If you hadn't started all this mess, she wouldn't have gotten hurt!"

"Oh, don't blame me, you crazy little-" the Country Diva began.

They were both startled when Chris snapped, "Look, both of you just shut up, all right? I can't believe you two are still fighting like this, I mean, how selfish are you two? Now look what you BOTH did. AJ's bleeding because of you! I'm so-so pissed at the both of you for acting like two spoiled and immature brats!" he finished, sending them one last glare before he stormed off next.

Mickie and Velvet were left in silence, when Velvet sent a death glare Mickie's way and left the room in a huff, the brunette shaking her head and following her.

* * *

A few minutes later, AJ and Alex were outside while he was tending to her nosebleed. "Ok." he sighed, gazing at her. "Fortunately, your nose isn't broken, just gonna be a little sore for a while. You ok?"

She quickly nodded. "Those punches really hurt." she said in a quiet voice.

He kissed her forehead. "Well you're all better now. I just can't believe how...ruthless those two were back there. All this fuss over Chris? I mean, I could see over me, but why HIM?" he joked while she giggled.

Sabin had overheard him and flatly replied, "Because I'm not a cheap wad like you. Hey, AJ, you feeling all right? How's your nose?"

"All better, thanks to Alex."

"Good. I'm so sorry you had to be caught in the crossfire like that. I just don't know what's gotten into them lately."

"Chris, it wasn't your fault, so don't apologize. I was just at the wrong place at the wrong time." the Diva replied.

"But still, I feel so responsible for this."

She answered him by wrapping him in a hug. "I'm fine, Chris. But it's sweet of you for worrying about me." she smiled.

He wrapped his arms around her and playfully tassled her hair. "Of course! I'm your overprotective big brother, so I'm supposed to worry about you."

"Ok, dude, give me my girlfriend back!" Alex pouted, wrapping her in his arms.

"So uh, the party's not ruined or anything, is it?" asked Chris. "Cause I really don't feel like sending a roomful of drunken dudes and chicks home and have glass bottles thrown towards me in protest."

They laughed. "No, dude, party's still on. As long as April's all right, then I'm having one hell of a happy birthday." Shelley smiled, wrapping her in another kiss.


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29**

At the next installment of Raw, Alex, AJ, and Chris were all hanging out in the Guns' locker room. After the accident at Shelley's birthday party, the three were still pretty bummed over Velvet and Mickie's huge fight...

AJ and Alex were currently making out, while Chris sat there, annoyed. "Must you make out in front of me like this?" he asked.

They turned to him. "...Yes." Alex replied with a smirk.

"So, you're only doing this to spite me. Cause I don't have a chick to make out with, right?" he asked.

He kept kissing his girlfriend before turning back to face him. "Yes." he repeated.

Angry, Chris looked for something to throw at him, before picking up his shoe and tossing it towards him, bouncing off of the wall and nearly hitting his head.

"HEY!" Alex snapped, turning to glare at him. "What the hell was that for, buttmunch? You almost knocked my head off!"

He smirked. "That was the point, dear Alex."

"You were being mean, Shells, I don't blame him for doing what he did." AJ giggled.

"I don't even know what I said!" he cried.

"You were making it obvious to him that he doesn't have a chick!" she cried, before turning to look at a downtrodden Chris. "Sorry, dude."

He nodded. "It's okay. I still can't believe those two were ready to kill one another over me. I mean, I still love them both, but I can only have one of them and only one of them can have me. I just don't know who." he sighed, resting his head in his hands.

"Ok seriously, Sabin, both Mickie and Velvet are stressing you out and too much stress isn't good for you, man. Maybe...you'll be better off without either one of em." Alex suggested.

Could that be the answer to his problem? Maybe letting them both go would do him some good. At least, that's what Chris was thinking. But before he could make any kind of decision, a light knock was heard on the door, followed by Mickie shyly poking her head in. "Um...hi, guys." she said timidly.

Alex just looked at her, AJ gave her a light smile, and Chris smiled, suddenly thinking how beautiful she looked to him.

"Hey-hi, Mickie." the three replied.

"So, I know that what happened at the party was uncalled for, but you guys are my best friends and I missed you all. Is it ok...if I'm still welcome to join you?" she asked, entering the room.

The friends looked at one another before AJ spoke up first, "Of course you can join us, Mickie."

She smiled and replied, "Thanks. Guys, again, I'm just so sorry for what I did at the party. It was immature of me, and I knew better. I totally didn't mean for any of it to happen."

"It's ok, Micks, it was just an accident!" April still smiled.

"So, do you guys hate me?" she asked the Guns.

"Well, I'll tell ya this. There are people that I'm quick to forgive and others that I'm not so quick to forgive. Even though you messed up back there, you're still forgiven in my book, friend." Alex grinned.

"Aw, I'm so glad to hear it!" the Country Diva exclaimed, wrapping him in a hug. "So...what about you, Chris?"

He gazed at her and smiled. "You know that I could never hate you."

The Diva beamed at this and even gave him a little hug. "Thank you."

"No prob. So now that's we're on the right page again, let's-" Chris began, when Alex cut him off.

"Hey look, Punk's match is on, let's watch!"

He sent him a look. "You're such a rude friend."

"Aw, quiet Sabin, I'm a great friend." Shelley replied with a smirk, turning his attention to the TV.

Out in the ring, CM Punk and Chris Jericho were just finishing another one-on-one bout. With all of Jericho's trash talk hanging over Punk's head lately, the Chicago native was set on making him pay. Dearly.

In the ring, Jericho currently had the advantage over the younger man, taking him down with a springboard dropkick over the ring apron. Punk reeled for a moment, but before he got a chance to get back up, Y2J pulled him up just in time for an European uppercut, followed by a double underhook, transitioning into a powerbomb.

The tattooed Superstar was lied out on the mat, giving Jericho another chance for a pin, when Punk kicked out at two. Y2J looked discouraged and then had a sadistic smile on his face, before he slid out of the ring and stopped behind the announcer's table to grab a case of Coors Light beers. The boos from the fans immediately flooded the arena, as the self proclaimed Sexy Beast took them all in, provoking him to do what he was about to do next. Before he crawled back into the ring, he turned around and called to the fans, "You ready to see him DRINK?"

More and more boos.

But once Jericho climbed back into the ring, he was immediately lifted over Punk's shoulders and was connected from a knee to the face, courtesy of Punk's GTS. CM went for the cover and the 1...2...3!

Cheers now flooded the arena as Lillian called, "Here is your winner, the WWE Champion, CM Punk!"

The tattooed man grabbed his title, proudly holding it high in the air, but Jericho, on the other hand, wasn't happy about this. He yelled and ran to attack Punk from behind, sending him to the mat while the Canadian began a serious beatdown on the guy as the boos emerged once again. Punk was no quitter, though, once he fought his way back up with a few punches and kicks back towards Y2J, the fans cheering in his favor.

But what Punk DIDN'T see was a third member of the group running down the ramp and sneaking in the ring. As soon as he turned around, CM was face to face with...Dave Batista?

Without saying a word, Dave slammed the Chicago native down with a massive powerbomb. Now, the fans were totally confused on why he was even out there, knowing that he had absolutely nothing to do with this feud, and Jericho was presently surprised and even laughed a little. Next, he held his hand out for Dave to shake, and he nodded back to the shorter man as a sign of agreement.

But Dave didn't loosen his grip, and Jericho soon looked a little concerned, trying to pull his hand away. He chuckled, before powerbombing the Canadian down next. To top it all off, he looked down at the two men lying on the mat, picked up the WWE title, and silently raised it up in the air, with the fans' jeers never ending.

* * *

Back in the Guns room...

"Aw man, that was brutal. Poor Punk." Alex announced.

"Yeah, I know. What business does Dave even have out there, though?" asked AJ.

"I dunno, but he's still a huge douchebag." Mickie rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

Chris, on the other hand, was pretty quiet tthe whole time, not forgetting how Dave had both embarrassed and disrespected both Mickie and Velvet in the past, and Sabin still vowed to get him back after all he's done.

Mickie noticed his expression first and asked, "Chris? Everything ok?"

He shook it off. "Just thinking about Dave. That son of a bitch."

"Well, that can wait for now, cause Punk's back and we gotta ask him what's up. C'mon." Alex replied, leading his friend out.

In the hall, a pissed off Punk held the back of his head with one hand and angrily kicked aside a few chairs, when the Guns approached him from behind.

"Punk, dude, what the hell happened out there?" asked Alex.

"Yeah, what was with Dave coming out? He had no business being in the ring and attacking you." agreed Chris.

He sharply turned around to face them. "I have no idea, but when I see him again, I'm going to kick his flipping ass!"

Right then and there, Dave sauntered by with his tag team title slung over his shoulder. "I know why I slipped in and attacked you. Because unlike you or Jericho, I'M the best in the world." he replied, glaring at Punk and then spinning the logo over his title for good measure. And once I win this, I'm going to redo this God-awful design and make the title mean something again."

"News flash, DAVE, this title already means something because I'M carrying it, and I've carried it for the last 174 days, the last SIX months! And I don't plan on giving this up to anyone, especially scum like you." CM replied, protectively holding his title.

"Wait, wait, let me just cut in here for a sec. Dave, you shouldn't even be concerned with the WWE title because Alex and I still deserve our rematch for those tag team titles!" exclaimed Chris.

"That's absolutely right, and we're not letting you leave until we get an answer, which better be 'yes' if you know what's good for ya." agreed Alex, standing next to Chris.

"Hmm..." Dave pondered, smirking. "You know, since I'm in such a great mood, I'll talk it over with Dolph and think about it. Have a nice day, now."

Confused, Punk and the Guns watched him stroll off.

"Wow, well that was easy." announced Chris.

"And strange." added Punk. "Whoa, guys, step back!"

The three saw Hunico and Camacho riding through the halls on that fake low-rider bike, with Hunico shouting random what-nots in Spanish while they trailed down the corridor.

The Guns took a double take. "...Mexican America?" they asked, puzzled and having a flashback to TNA.

* * *

Back in the locker room...

"Mickie, can I ask you something?" AJ spoke up.

"Sure thing. What's up?"

"Back at the party when you were fighting with Velvet, I knew that you weren't just fighting her because you didn't like her. You were fighting for Chris, weren't you?" asked the tiny Diva.

The brunette sighed. "I...I don't know. Maybe fighting her was an instinct of mine and maybe...I didn't want her to get with Chris." she said slowly.

"So do you want him back?" AJ asked quietly, placing a hand onto her shoulder.

She felt the tears stinging her eyes. "Of course I do, AJ, I love him! But as much as I _want_ to take him back, I _can't_ because he still did the unforgivable and cheated on me. So if he wants Velvet, then he's free to go after the bitch."

"Sweetie, you can't keep on saying these things to keep making yourself feel miserable. If Chris decides to run off with Velvet, then where does that leave you?" asked the tiny Diva.

"I-"

But before she could answer, the door swung open, and to their shock, Chris Jericho entered the room, exhausted. "Hey, you girls have any drinks in here?" he asked, panting.

"What about all that beer you were planning to spill all over Punk?" AJ asked with a frown, crossing her arms. "Drink that!"

"Ah, I was just messing with him, I wasn't really going to pour anything on him." he replied, looking through the mini fridge without their permission.

"No please, help yourself." Mickie said sarcastically.

He took out a water bottle and flashed them - especially Mickie - a look of gratitude. "How kind of you to do such a favor to an ailing man." he smiled.

"Oh please, Drama Queen, stop trying to play the sympathy card." the Country Diva shook her head. "You're not dying or anything."

"Nope, now I'm not. In fact, I feel one hell of a lot better." the Canadian smiled, kissing Mickie's hand before flashing her one more look and heading off.

The girls, on the other hand, were silent.

"...What was that about?" AJ asked slowly.

Mickie still held out her hand in the same position, not moving her arm. "I...don't know anymore." she concluded slowly. Chris' behavior was real strange, even for himself.


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30**

The next day, at the gang's hotel...

"So what the hell was up with Jericho last night?" asked AJ.

"I still have no idea. Why was he looking at me like that and why'd he kiss my hand?" asked Mickie.

"Maybe he was just being nice."

"Nope, I've known Jericho for years and he's always been sort of a sleaze, at least he was in the past. You think he wants something from me?" the Country Diva asked back.

Before AJ could answer, Mickie's cell lit up, and she picked it up. "Uh oh. Maybe he DOES want something from you."

Mickie looked at her phone to find a new message from Jericho. "What the-" she began, looking at the text message that said,

_"Hey, Micks, just wanted to thank U once again for the water. I definitely owe U one and trust me, I will. ;)"_

_-IamJericho_

"How'd he even get my number?" she asked, shocked.

"Beats me. He really needs to settle down, it was just water, it's not much of a big deal, so don't worry about it." AJ replied.

"Eh, you're right. So, what do you want to do today?"

AJ was about to answer, but her and Mickie grew silent once Velvet walked into the bedroom. They looked at her.

She slowed down her movements and looked back at them. "Hi, AJ." she ignored Mickie.

The tiny Diva forced a smile and instead of saying anything, she just sent her a friendly wave back.

"AJ, please talk to me. Look, I'm sorry about what happened at the party, and I never meant to hurt you in any way! It was a complete and total accident, I swear!" the blonde pleaded. "Please forgive me."

AJ looked towards Mickie while she looked back at her, and slowly shook her head.

"Don't listen to Mickie, AJ! She started the fight in the first place, she attacked ME first! I never meant to cause anybody any trouble!" she continued.

"Please Velvet, don't try and turn me against my best friend, ok? That's just low, even for you." April replied seriously.

"AJ!" Velvet cried, surprised.

"That night, I warned for you not to be there, just to prevent the fight that eventually did happen! You-you nearly ruined my boyfriend's birthday party, you're making Chris miserable, and you're making Mickie just as miserable! So, I really don't know what else to say to you right now."

"April, please-"

"We have nothing more to say to one another." Mickie cut her off, taking AJ's hand and leading her away. "Let's go, AJ. I'll buy us some frappachinos."

"Aw, but I want a soda!" she cried.

Once they headed off, it was no doubt that Velvet was hurt. Then, she decided to try and win the Guns' forgiveness. Once she stepped out into the hall, she bumped into Alex. "Alex, hey! Listen, can I talk to you for a sec?"

"I really don't have time, Velvet." he replied, heading inside the hotel room. She followed him.

"Alex, please, this will only take a sec. I wanted to apologize to you for what happened at the party. I never meant to cause any trouble, in fact, it-it was all Mickie's fault that the fight even happened! I didn't start it, she did! And I'm so sorry that AJ was the one who ended up getting hurt! Alex, please, you gotta forgive me!" the blonde pleaded, grabbing onto his arm.

He whipped around, chuckling bitterly. "Velvet, I don't 'gotta' do anything. As far as I'm concerned, both you AND Mickie started the fight, and one of you could've stopped it, but you didn't. My girlfriend shouldn't have been the one to get punched in the freakin' nose!" he snapped.

"It was an accident, Alex, I swear." she said quietly. "So I'm guessing that you're still pissed at Mickie too, huh?"

"No."

"NO?" she asked, shocked.

"See, Mickie's one of my best friends, and she's like a sister to me, so I let it slide with her." he explained.

"Alex, are you serious? You've known ME longer than you've ever known her, and you choose to forgive her and not me?" she snapped.

"Vel, let me be honest here. Chris is my best friend, and you really hurt him back then. If he's hurt, then I'm hurt. In fact, I tried to warn him to stay away from you, but he insisted that you were the one for him, so I let him do what he wanted to do, hoping that you wouldn't break the guy's heart. And what do you do? Break the guy's heart." he explained, al all-too-serious look on his face.

"But that's why I'm here trying to make things right again!" she cried.

"Make things right? Please! Before you showed up, Chris was perfectly happy with Mickie, and she was perfectly happy with him! See, that's why I can easily forgive Mickie. She's made Chris happier than I've ever seen him before, she's totally stayed faithful to him, and not to mention that she's like a sister to both AJ and I. So now you see the difference between her and you?" he asked.

"Alex-"

"No, this discussion's finished, I gotta meet up with my friends." he muttered, grabbing his bag and heading out before she could catch up with him.

"Damn it. I have to talk to Chris, he's my last hope." she told herself, nervously pacing the room. Next, she ran for the door, where she nearly collided into the Detroit native who was standing there. "Chris!" she smiled.

"Vel." he said blankly, heading inside. "Where were you off to?"

"Actually, I was just looking for you. Look, I know you said that you were pissed at Mickie and I, but I was hoping that you've cooled down since then and you could forgive me?" she pleaded. "I never meant for anything to happen back at the party!"

"You know who started the fight?" he asked, crossing his arms.

"Mickie did!"

"Of course you'd say that." he said flatly.

"But it's true! She was the one who slapped me first! She's reckless, Chris, she's trying to set me up so that I was the one at fault, but she's to blame for this as much as I am!"

"Did it ever occur to you that you provoked her into hitting you?" he asked back. "Mickie's usually pretty controlled with her temper unless someone says something to piss her off."

"Oh, like you know her so well." she shook her head.

"I do know her that well. Because I still love her, Velvet." he said, serious.

She felt like she was going to cry any second.

"Now you never answered my question, Vel. Did you or did you not provoke her into hitting you?"

"...Yes. I said a few things, but I just wanted to piss her off!" she cried.

"So that makes you just as guilty for all this as she is! See, I can't deal with this crap right now, I have other things to deal with." Chris sighed, heading into the bedroom to grab his bags.

"Come on, Chris, you're my last hope! Everyone else hates me now and I can't have you hate me, too! I still love you." the blonde's voice broke, tears rolling down her face.

He turned to her. "Jamie, I don't hate you, all right? I could never hate either you or Mickie, in fact, I love you both! But you gotta know that I can only have one of you, and only one of you can have me. That's just the way it works." he replied, wiping away her tears.

"So what happens now?"

"Well, for now, I can't be with either of you two. I gotta make an important decision, so I just have to be on my own for now. Ok?" he asked.

"Chris, no..." she began.

"I'm sorry." he said regretfully, kissing her forehead before he headed off next.

Still looking in his direction, she sat down on the bed while the tears continued to stream down her face. "Yeah, I'm sorry, too." she said quietly.

* * *

Down in the lobby, AJ and Mickie were chatting over some drinks, where Alex surprised AJ by wrapping his arms around her from behind and saying, "The sexiness has arrived."

She laughed and gave him a kiss. "Yes, it has! Want some of my soda?"

"Sure, don't mind if I do." he said, taking a sip.

"I still don't understand why she's drinking soda at 10:30 in the morning, so whatevs." Mickie chuckled.

"It's a free country, Mickie, I can do whatever I want to." the tiny Diva chuckled.

"That's absolutely right, baby." Alex agreed, taking another chair and sitting her on his lap. "So what do we have planned for today? You want to head for the gym for a couple of hours and then hang out somewhere?"

"Sounds good! Oh hey, Chris, glad you could join us!" AJ exclaimed, before they saw the saddened expression on his face. "You ok?"

"What's wrong?" asked Mickie.

He sighed and took a seat next to her. "Just had a chat with Velvet. She was trying to apologize to me about what happened at the party."

"Oh, her? Dude, don't sweat it, she's been trying to apologize to me, too." Alex shook his head. "She's been nothing but trouble ever since she came here."

AJ nodded in agreement. "Same here. Making us keep secrets from one another, lying...I'm usually a very nice person, but even she's making me want to slap her across the face."

"Trust me, slapping her across the face is the nicest thing I could ever do to her. I never meant to fight her, but with everything that she said to me and everything that she did, I just can't stand her and I have the urge to rip her throat out!" Mickie exclaimed.

"Well you know what, let's just not worry about her for now, ok?" asked Chris. "The four of us are here and we're all cool with one another, so that's what really matters. Guns for life!" he exclaimed, holding up his soda.

The others smiled and toasted their drinks with his. "Guns for life!" they cheered along. Soon after that, though, Mickie saw on her cell that she had another new message from Jericho. "Hmm? What does he want from me?" she asked quietly.

Chris took a peek and saw everything. "New message from _IamJericho_? What the hell does he want with you?" he asked, a little concerned.

"I have no idea." she shrugged. Seeing the message, it read,

_"I know how to make it up to you! Maybe U and I could hang out somewhere, y'know, like old times? I missed chatting around with you. So whenever you're available, just give me a call or text! Have a great day!_

_-IamJericho"_

Mickie didn't know what to say and just stared at her phone, while Chris replied, "Make what up to you? Did something happen last night?"

"It's not a big deal, Chris. Jericho just took a water from out of our fridge in the locker room, and for some apparent reason he feels that he has to repay me for it. God knows why." she shook it off.

"Hmm...you think that Jericho has a thing for ya, Mickie?" Alex asked with a smirk.

"N-No!" she cried, surprised. "I mean, he and I are-were friends at one point, but he has a wife and three kids. Why would he have any type of thing for me?" the Diva asked.

"Hey, hey, I'm just sayin! I've seen cases like this where a married man falls for the younger, more beautiful friend who eventually becomes his mistress and has a secret affair behind his wife's back-" Alex began, but was silenced once Mickie shoved an apple into his mouth. "Shut up, Alex." she said flatly.

AJ and Chris couldn't help but to laugh, when Alex's cell rung next.

"Mmmm-mmm-mmm-" he spat out the apple and answered it. "Ahem. Talk to me...well, well, well, Mr. Laurinitis, how can I help you?" he asked suspiciously, as the others grew silent. "...You're calling the four of us there for a meeting?...Ok, let me tell you in advance, if you're jerking around with us, I can make one quick phone call to Dixie, and she can deal with your-really?...Fine, fine, we'll be right there." he finished, hanging up.

"Oh no, what does he want?" Chris asked, worried. "This won't be another ploy of his to set us in a match to fire us, will it?"

"Yeah, nothing ever good happens when we have to meet with him." Mickie said, worried.

"He never mentioned anything about a match. He just said that this meeting's important and that we have to be there right away." he replied.

"Well, guys, we better not disappoint the boss. Let's get going." announced AJ.

* * *

A little while later, the four Guns had arrived to Johnny's office at the now empty arena where the last Raw show was seen. To their surprise, though, Eve, Dolph, and Beth Phoenix were already there.

"Oh, God." Alex muttered.

Dolph and Beth shot him a look, while Eve smirked a little and blew him a kiss. AJ grumbled and protectively stood in front of her boyfriend with her arms outstretched. Finally, an unlikely choice, Zack Ryder joined the gang, saying, "Uh, am I in the right room, bros? Wow, Eve! I didn't know you'd be in here, too!" he exclaimed, standing next to her.

She rolled her eyes and moved away. "Go away, loser." she scoffed.

Johnny Ace smiled at all of them and then stood up. "All right, glad you all could make it. Now, I'm sure that you're all thinking that this meeting might be, I dunno, bad news regarding the fate of your careers..." he began, looking Chris and Alex dead in the eyes.

They sent death glares back at him. "Well, that didn't work very well, did it?" Alex smirked.

"...Ahem. Well, it's not. This meeting for the following. The Board of Directors and I have been in some serious discussion, and we've seen over the fact that we've had tons of previous WWE stars and Divas featured on television media, such as music videos, game shows, or cameos on some reality shows. Well, since that hasn't been done in a great amount of time, we've struck up a deal with NBC, where the eight of you will be featured on another WWE edition of Fear Factor!" he exclaimed.

For once, news from Johnny was taken positively.

"Fear Factor! Oh my God, I loved watching that show back in the day!" AJ exclaimed, excited. "They're making new episodes again or something?"

"Yes, they are, dear. And for this edition, you'll be paired up into teams to compete in the challenges and for the money. Alex and AJ, you'll be one team..." he began.

"Yay!" she squealed, wrapping him in a hug while he smiled and lifted her off of the ground.

"Wow, dude, you're not such a cheap old tightwad after all." Shelley smiled. "Thanks!"

Mr. L frowned. "I will ignore that. Now, Chris and Mickie, you'll be team two."

Now normally, they'd be all over each other in excitement, but because of the current circumstances and the tension still between them, all they could do was look towards one another and force a couple of smiles.

"Well, well, well." Mickie smiled weakly, lightly punching him on the arm.

"Yay for teamwork." he said just as weakly, nodding quickly.

"Dolph and Beth, you'll be team three." said Johnny.

The bleach blonde nodded and knuckle punched with the Dominant Diva.

"The Perfectionist and the Dominant one together? I don't seem to have a problem with that, do you, Dolph?" asked Beth.

He smiled that cocky smile of his. "Not at all. Just don't get in my way and we'll be fine."

Her features changed and sent him a surprised look.

"And finally, Eve and Zack..." began Johnny.

"No, no, oh GOD, NO!" Eve snapped, fearing the worst.

"...will be team four."

"Aw, come on Eve, it'll be great!" exclaimed the LI native. "We'll have fun on the show fist pumping when we win, spiking each other's hair, it'll rock!"

She sent him a glance of disdain, before rushing to Johnny. "Mr. Laurinitis, you cannot be serious. You can't do this to me, we have a connection! I'm supposed to be your assistant! How could you pair me with-with HIM?" she demanded, freaking out.

"I'm sorry, but that's how things are, and everything's already confirmed. Now everyone listen up. Be packed and ready by Friday, since the plane will fly you all out that evening. Whoever wins the cash in the show just may get a future title opportunity in the near future, so keep that in mind while you're playing." he finished. "But this meeting's dismissed, you can go now."

The excited group headed out of the room, but he called, "Wait, Eve, Beth, Dolph, hang around for a sec."

They stopped and turned to him.

"What's up?" asked Dolph.

"Look, just make sure that none of those pathetic Guns win any of this, all right? Having them lose like this could humiliate them on national TV, and that's exactly what I want to happen. So none of you screw up and let them beat any of ya, all right?" the crooked GM asked.

The three looked at one another, with similar evil smiles creeping onto their faces.

Eve stepped up to him first, shaking his hand. "We won't let you down, boss."

Meanwhile, the Guns were strolling down the hall, not able to get over the news...

"Oh my God, this is so exciting! I never thought I'd ever be able to get on that show!" AJ exclaimed, lacing her fingers with Alex's. "Aren't you guys pumped?"

"To be honest, I haven't watched that show in years, so I forgot what it was really about." replied Alex.

"Oh you remember, the first stunt is like, jumping across two moving trucks or something, the second stunt has you eat bugs or gross animal parts and junk, and the third stunt has you do some crazy reckless stunt in order to win the $50 grand." she explained.

"Oh, yeah!" he remembered. "You know, this really might be pretty awesome to do. As long as I won't have to eat liquefied cow tongue or bull testicles or something of that nature."

Chris chuckled. "You're such a wuss."

"Oh, like YOU could down any of that!" he snapped back. "You know what, just for saying that, I'm going to point and laugh at you while you STRUGGLE to gulp down 15 spiders in under 4 minutes, and I'm going to watch you fail!"

"Competition getting to our heads, young Alex?" Sabin asked back. "You better cut down on the insults, cause that huge ego of yours is enough to make you fail during the first stunt. And then we'll see who'll be the one pointing and laughing."

"Oh ho, but I WON'T lose, because I have the lovely, talented, and beautiful April as my partner, so HA!" Shelley snapped back.

"Well, I have the gorgeous, one of a kind, bombshell in the form of Mickie James as my partner, so HA right back to you!" Chris exclaimed, while Mickie just had to blush a bit at his comment.

"Guys, maybe we shouldn't be threatening _each other_, since we're facing off against the likes of Eve, Dolph, and Beth. Ok?" asked the Country Diva.

Silence.

"Oh, you're absolutely right. In the name of all that is good, we have to send those group of tools packing after the first stunt. Guns, we've got a lot of practicing to do in only a few days, so let's get a move on, c'mon!" Alex announced, as the three nodded along.


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31 - Fear Factor: Day One**

So throughout that week, everyone practiced the potential stunts that could possibly be shown on Fear Factor, and some teams were more ready than others. On Friday morning, the eight Superstars and Divas were flown to Anaheim, California, where Fear Factor was being taped. The question was, who would be able to win the $50,000?

"I'm Joe Rogan, and this is Fear Factor. The stunts you're about to see were designed and supervised by trained professionals. They are extremely dangerous, and should not be attempted by anyone, anywhere, anytime." he announced.

...

Meanwhile, the eight contestants were all walking down a boardwalk, awaiting their first stunt.

Eve and Zack were wearing matching red shirts, and Eve was shown walking a few feet AWAY from Zack with an annoyed look on her face, Dolph and Beth, who were wearing matching pink shirts, were shown looking both dominant and confident, Alex and AJ, who were wearing matching blue shirts, held hands the whole time, while Mickie and Chris, wearing matching green shirts, occasionally sent shy glances towards one another. Things still weren't near 100% between them. Soon enough, they all met with the host.

"Welcome, everyone, how's it going?" he greeted them all.

"Hey, Joe!" exclaimed Alex.

"What's up, broski!" exclaimed Zack.

"What the hell did you call me-broski? What's a broski?" asked Joe.

"Aw, bro, you've never heard of a Broski? Broski's are friends of mine who take care, spike their hair, and-"

"Oh, God." muttered Eve.

"Woo WOO woo, you know it!" he finished.

"So you got some kind of Jersey Shore thing going on?" asked the host.

"No, no! Those Jersey Shore dudes stole this from ME! This is all LI pride, baby. Come on, fist pump with me!"

Eve stopped him. "Please ignore this...little boy, please."

"Oh, and what's got you so crabby?" the host asked.

"I was just forced to be his partner and I can't stand him." the Latina shook her head.

"Yeah, she hates him." agreed Dolph.

"So what's your relationship here?" asked Joe.

"Broski's-" Zack was cut off when Eve exclaimed, "WE HAVE NO RELATIONSHIP!"

"Whoo, ok, someone's feisty! How about you two, what's your relationship?" he asked Alex and April.

"He's my boyfriend." AJ smiled, grabbing his arm.

"And she's my girlfriend." Alex smiled and nodded. "And we're gonna win this thing and send you all packing."

"Oh!" exclaimed the host. "We got some confidence over here!"

"No, they're not, they're afraid." Beth smirked.

"So what made you two get together?" he asked them.

"Oh, just our shared love of video games, comics, action movies, that kinda stuff." answered Alex.

"Oh, so you two are a couple of geeks?"

"That's right, and these two geeks will KICK your asses!" AJ exclaimed.

"Stop lying, stop lying!" Eve chuckled. "She's too small to win anything, she'll fail on the first stunt."

"Oh, I'm too small? Was I too small when I kicked your ass, gave you a black eye, and sent you flying through a table?" the brunette asked.

"OH!"

"Bam!" Chris chuckled.

"Me-ow, bring out the claws!" Joe exclaimed. "What about you two, what's your relationship?" he asked Dolph and Beth. "I see you both got the blonde thing going on."

"Oh, we're just friends that will crush all these peasants and win the $50 grand on our own." replied Beth.

"Yeah, I wouldn't consider us friends...more like business partners. But she's right, that $50 grand is just about ours." agreed Dolph.

"All right, we'll see what happens! And what about you two?" he asked Chris and Mickie.

They looked at each other, not really knowing what to tell him.

"We're exes." answered Chris.

"Oh? What happened?"

"He cheated on me and I'm still mad at him for it." Mickie answered quickly while Chris gave her a look.

"Oh no, so how will this affect your teamwork in the game?"

"Despite our little rift, we're still a cohesive team and we'll be sure to send these guys home crying and packing." Chris said with a nod.

"All right, this should be one hell of a show. Well, you four teams have been brought here from the WWE for one thing - to stare fear in the eye and compete for $50,000." he announced.

"Yeah!-Whoo!" they cheered and clapped.

"Ready for your first stunt?" he asked.

"YEAH!" they cheered.

"All right, here it is!" he called, once a huge cannon was shown at the edge of one of the piers. "One of you will be stuffed into that cannon, while your partner will be hanging from a crane as it travels down the pier. The person hanging from the crane is gonna drop down into the water, swim over to that buoy, where they will retrieve two flares. They will then make their way over to the fuse, light the fuse on the cannon, blowing their partner into the water. The partner will then swim over to that ultra boat, and plant a flag for time." he explained.

"Whoa!" Alex cheered, clapping.

"Dude, this is gonna be sick." Chris smiled.

"The team that completes this stunt the fastest, will get to choose who to send home. We've randomly selected who gets to go first, and Alex and AJ, you two are lucky number one."

"Yeah! We're stoked!" he exclaimed.

"Let's kick some ass." the Diva agreed.

"So do you two think that watching these action movies might give you an advantage in this challenge?" he asked.

"Well, this isn't exactly like Point Break, but you know, we're still very confident that we'll nail this stunt to a T." replied Shelley.

"Ok, so how long have you two been together?"

"Almost a year, about eight months." nodded AJ.

"Have you two done anything competitive that'll help you in the show?"

"Dude, we're professional wrestlers!" Alex exclaimed with a smile. "We've teamed together in the ring and we're like a well oiled machine!"

"No, no, well oiled Machine Guns." AJ corrected.

"Trust us, they're good, we've teamed with them and they're legit." Mickie agreed.

"Aww, friendship." joked Joe.

"Don't buy this stuff, give em five minutes and they'll be on the road to a breakup." Dolph replied. "I'm calling it."

"Well, then we'll see after they compete the challenge. You guys ready?" he asked.

"YEAH!" the couple nodded.

"Ok, who's gonna be in the cannon?"

"I will." AJ raised her hand.

"Coolio, so you two head on over, and good luck. Have fun!"

"We will, dude! Whoo!" Alex exclaimed as he and AJ headed off, Chris, Mickie, and Zack applauding them.

* * *

Soon enough, the two approached the cannon, and AJ was jumping up and down. "Hey, settle down there, jumpy! You nervous or excited for this?" he asked, taking off his shirt while AJ did the same, revealing her bikini underneath.

"Uh, both! Oh my God, I've never done anything this crazy in my life." she said shakily.

"Well don't worry about a thing. We have solid teamwork both inside and outside of the ring, and this will be no different." replied the Detroit native.

"Any advice so that the cannon doesn't blow me to Switzerland?" she asked.

"Just aim for the boat over there and swim as fast as you can. We gotta get the best time so that we can send either Dolph and Beth or Eve and Zack packing first. You ready for this?" he asked, holding out his hands.

She slapped them in a double high-five. "I'm on like Donkey Kong." she finished, smiling.

Moments later, the Diva was being positioned into the cannon and Alex was getting harnessed up. He leapt up and grabbed onto the crane handle and shook off some last second jitters.

Alex VO: "Seems here out of all the teams, April and I are the most solid. And that cohesiveness that we share will definitely pull us through to the last round."

AJ VO: "This is by far, the craziest thing that either of us has ever done. All we gotta do is have great timing and we should have this thing!"

"Ok, AJ's settled in the cannon, Alex is set on the crane, here we go." Joe said before calling to the two, "Ok, time starts when you drop into the water, time stops when the flag is planted!"

Soon enough, the crane began to head alongside the pier, with Alex trying his hardest to keep himself still.

"That crane's swinging pretty wild. If Alex falls early, he's going to have one hell of a swim." Joe told the other contestants. "He's gotta hang on. Oh, he's closing in on it!"

The crane picked up speed, while Alex swung around and held on for dear life.

"He's hanging in there, but this is a long time suspending. I don't know if he's gonna be able to do this." he continued as the others looked on.

"He won't be able to do this." Beth smiled.

"Hey, Alex is my best friend, I wouldn't count him out so early." Chris turned back and told her.

Soon enough, Alex saw the perfect opportunity and leapt into the water, as the timing began.

"All right, he's in!" exclaimed Joe. "All right, he's got to grab the two flares..."

Alex luckily wasn't too far away from the buoy, and easily grabbed the fares from it. Then, he turned to swim towards the raft.

"Now he has to swim over to the raft and light the fuse for the cannon."

"I can't believe he even made it this far with him hanging onto the crane for as long as he did." Eve announced.

"Yeah, he's doing really well. He's really hustling there." Joe agreed, once Alex swam and climbed onto the raft.

"All right, he made it to the raft, but look at him, he's exhausted." he pointed out the truth, once Alex struggled to climb aboard. "Pulling himself up kinda slow, it's hard, but he's doing it. All right, now he's off lighting the fuse..."

Shelley quickly grabbed one of the flares and lit it up, sending the fire up to the cannon's rope, and igniting the cannon, sending AJ flying through the air.

"WHOA! Wow, that's incredible!" the others exclaimed.

The Diva landed not too far from the boat, but still had somewhat of a swim ahead of her.

"Damn!" exclaimed Mickie.

"Ok, that was a total faceplant, I called it!" Eve laughed. "You're too short, honey, you can't do it!"

"Oh man, that was awesome." Joe chuckled.

"That WAS awesome." Chris nodded along.

In the water, AJ used all the energy she had to swim towards the boat as fast as she could.

"All right, she's made her way to the ultra boat, and all she's gotta do is plant that flag to stop the time!" called the host.

April struggled to climb onto the boat, and stumbled a little.

"Oh, she slipped! That could cost her!" he exclaimed.

She gained her composure and maneuvered herself onto the boat, rushing to the pole and clipping the flag to end their time at 1:09.

"TIME!" called Joe.

"Whoo! Great job, guys!" cheered Mickie, while Chris applauded once again.

Zack fist pumped.

"We're still gonna BEAT you!" Beth called.

"Your time is one minute, nine seconds!" Joe called to them.

"WHOOOOO!" AJ screamed, waving towards Alex on the other side.

"I LOVE YOU, BABY!" he screamed back.

* * *

Moments later, the two had changed back into their regular clothes and joined Joe and the other teams back onto the pier, as they clapped for them.

"Welcome back, AJ and Alex, great job out there." the host announced.

"Thank you!" Shelley nodded.

"One minute, nine seconds, impressive time."

The two shared a congratulatory kiss.

"Aww!" everyone but Dolph, Beth, and Eve exclaimed. In fact, Eve still had that same annoyed look on her face.

"How was it like being shot out of the cannon?" he asked AJ.

"Oh my God, it was the most amazing thing I've ever done. It all happened so fast, so all I remember was flying through the air and then having water splashed into my face, so uh, it was awesome." she smiled.

"All righty, well, Mickie, Chris, you're up next and I have to admit, I don't know if you two being exes is going to help you that much." he said surely.

The two looked at one another and laughed, before Mickie replied, "No, don't say that! He and I are still friends and we always will be."

Chris smiled at this and gave her a one-armed hug.

"Well, I hope that works for ya. So who's going to be in the cannon?"

"I will." Mickie raised her hand.

"Ok, so have either of you ever had any experience with cannons before?"

The two looked at one another with smirks on their faces when Mickie shook her head 'no', and Chris flexed his muscles. "THESE cannons."

The gang laughed at this.

"Well, that cannon over there is about 5 tons heavier, so good luck you two, go and get yourselves ready." the host replied.

"Thanks!-Will do!" the two said, heading off while Alex, AJ, and Zack applauded.

Dolph shook his head. "Not in a million years."

"I think they'll pull it off." AJ said.

"But they won't beat us." Alex pointed out.

"Oh yeah, they definitely won't." she agreed.

* * *

Moments later, the two headed towards the cannon to get themselves prepared...

"I'm not gonna lie, Alex and AJ kicked ass back there and that time's gonna be hard to beat." Chris announced. "But we can pull this off like we have in the ring before, right?"

"Exactly! I'll just swim as fast as my little legs can take me and try and make it in...1:08?" she shrugged cutely.

"Well, I have the utmost faith in you, Sweet Mickie. Ready to do this?" he smiled, holding out his hand.

"Hell yeah." she grinned, slapping his hand.

Back on the boardwalk...

"So these two are still exes, how do you think they'll pull this off?" asked Joe.

"You know, as long as she makes it out of the cannon, they should be pretty good." replied AJ. "But that cannon's SO dusty and powdery!"

"Butter em up, butter em up!" exclaimed Alex.

Meanwhile, the two were getting ready by getting into their bathing suits and getting set up at their respective positions.

Chris VO: "Yeah, so Mickie and I might not be seeing everything from eye-to-eye at the moment, but how's that gonna stop us from winning? We are Machine Guns, and we'll prove all our critics wrong."

Mickie VO: "Relationship or not, it doesn't matter! Chris and I have made one hell of a team in the ring, and we'll make one hell of a team today. And even if we don't win, we're here to have fun! But...don't get me wrong, we're here to kick ass and take the cash."

Before Mickie had climbed into the cannon, she exclaimed to one of the camera guys, "You think we won't be able to do this? Well watch us prove you wrong. Let's go!"

"All right, Mickie's set up into the cannon, Chris is hanging onto the crane, and the time they have to beat is 1:09. Remember, the team with the fastest time gets to send home whoever they want." Joe announced.

Chris was lifted off of his platform and swung into the air, as the crane began to move along the pier.

"All right, let's see how long Chris can hang on there. Alex hang on for a pretty long time and it worked for him." he commented.

"Oh, thanks." Alex smiled.

"Yeah, let's see if he'll have the arm strength to swim after this."

Soon afterwards, Chris let go and dropped himself into the water.

"And time!" Joe called as the clock began. "NICE!" he exclaimed, as Chris swam quickly towards the nearest buoy, snatching the flares, and turning to swim towards the raft. "Wow, Chris has got some serious arm strength going on there."

"You can do it, guys! Whoo!" cheered AJ.

"FAIL! Please FAIL!" Dolph called.

Chris was already getting tired, but he eventually made it to the raft, trying to climb up the rope to get onto the surface.

"Oh, he's exhausted, you can tell by him struggling with the rope." said Joe. "Really struggling here!"

Sabin tossed the flares onto the raft and used all he had left to pull himself up the ropes and finally onto the surface.

"All right, he finally made it up, now all he has to do it light up the fuse."

He rushed to light up the flare, setting the fuse up, and the cannon shot Mickie out through the air.

"There's Mickie!" called Joe.

"WHOO! Superchick!" called Alex.

"Yeah, go, Mickie!" cheered Zack.

"Don't cheer for her." Eve said, shaking her head.

"IT'S TOO FAR!" Beth screamed, trying to throw Mickie off. "YOU CAN'T DO IT!"

Mickie landed in the water, and quickly swam towards the boat.

"Oh, look at Mickie, she's hustling there!" called the host.

"LET'S GO, MICKIE!" Chris yelled, cheering her on.

She arrived to the boat, but slipped back into the water once she tried to climb in.

"Oh! She slipped in, that's gonna cost her some time." exclaimed Joe.

Mickie gained her composure, rushed into the boat, and clipped the flag onto the pole.

"TIME!" called Joe. "1:37."

At first, Mickie was glad that she was able to do it, but was disappointed once she heard of their time. She looked towards Chris, who looked disappointed as well.

"Which means, Alex and AJ, you two are still in the lead." he continued, while they smiled and applauded for themselves.

"That's what we're talking about." Shelley agreed.

Mickie was on the boat bringing her back to the boardwalk, while she told the camera guy, "Hey, I was hoping to get 1:08 and we ended up getting 1:37. What can I say? We're both exhausted, and we-we gave it our all. Just hope that I didn't disappoint Chris."

Chris called from the raft, "Head up, Mickie, it's all right! We did good!"

* * *

Meanwhile, Eve and Zack were next, and headed towards the Cannon for a little pep talk...

"Oh my God, Eve, can you believe this? We're actually going to do a stunt for Fear Factor, this is so sick, bro, I mean-"

"Zack-ZACK! Shut up." Eve stopped him. "Now you listen to me. We are not going to lose this, and you are not going to screw this up for me, all right? We are going to beat Alex and AJ's time, and we will be the ones to send them home first, is that clear?"

"But that isn't very nice-"

"IS...that...clear?"

"Yes."

"Good. Now here's the plan. Since you're taller, you'll be the one in the cannon, and you'll make it to the boat more quickly. Got it?"

"Sick!" he exclaimed. "I get to be shot out of a cannon!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just don't be afraid, and don't screw this up. Let's get to work." the Latina replied.

Soon enough, the two were changing into their swimwear.

Zack VO: "Eve and I have this stunt in the bag! She knows what she's talking about, and I KNOW, that she'll bring us to the final round. Woo WOO woo...You know it."

Eve VO: "Even though my partner is a compete airhead, I'm going to shape him up so that we'll be guaranteed to make it to the final round. And I mean, look who our competition is! A couple of geeks - with a hot guy may I add-, two ex-lovers who are standing on thin ice, and two blonde, overconfident ego-heads. This is all ours."

Now, Eve was standing onto the platform while she grabbed onto the crane handle, as Zack was positioned into the cannon, giving the camera a thumbs up.

"All right, Eve's hanging from the crane, Zack's into the cannon, and their time to beat is 1:09." announced Joe, as the crane began to move with Eve hanging in midair. "Here they go!"

The crane began to pick up speed, and when Eve saw the buoy in sight, she let go and dropped into the water.

"Time starts now!" he called.

Eve swam almost like lightning, and approached the buoy in quick time. "Wow, she's a strong swimmer, she made it to the buoy in no time!" he exclaimed once she grabbed the two flares and swam back towards the raft. "Alex, AJ, you better be worrying now."

"No, we're not afraid. Maybe she'll lose her bra top into the water and have to swim back and grab it before it floats away." Alex replied.

Joe chuckled. "That'll be a sight to see."

Eve eventually made it towards the raft, tossed the flares inside, and climbed up the rope.

"She's exhausted, but she's using her legs to help her climb up the rope, very smart!"

"No, no, FALL!" AJ cried. "Please?"

The Latina made it onto the raft and fumbled with one of the flares, before lighting up the fuse and igniting the cannon.

"Aw, damn." Alex muttered.

"And there goes Zack!" Joe called once the cannon shot him out, sending him flying across the water and a few feet away from the boat.

"Oh wow, he landed so well." Mickie announced.

"Yeah, he got some distance." agreed Chris.

"MOVE IT, ZACK!" Eve screamed.

He nodded at this and swam as fast as he could, eventually making it to, and climbing aboard the boat.

"Wow, Zack's the only one who hasn't slipped and fallen back into the water, this could be good for them." announced the host.

Zack reached the pole, and quickly clipped the flag on.

"TIME!" he called.

"YEAH!" cheered Eve.

The other teams applauded for Zack (not Eve) for his valiant effort.

"Your time is: 1:28!" he called.

Zack slumped back onto the boat, defeated, while an angry Eve screamed, "DAMMIT, ZACK, YOU FAILURE!"

"Which means, Alex and AJ, you're still in the driver's seat, congratulations." he told them.

"Aw, hells yeah!" Shelley smiled, wrapping his girlfriend in a hug. "See, we can talk trash and back it up, too."

"Oh, Beth and I haven't even gone yet, so you don't even know what you're saying!" exclaimed Dolph.

"Oh shut up, you're a tool." he replied.

"Hey, you know what, they're only 9 seconds faster than us, so we don't feel that bad anymore." Chris replied with a smile.

"Really? So you got beat by geeks, a Broski, and an angry Latina and you're feeling good about your time?" asked Joe while they laughed.

* * *

Soon after, Beth and Dolph were the last to go, and were getting prepared and changed into their swimwear by the cannon.

Beth VO: "So obviously, our biggest threat here are the happy couple, Alex and AJ. But what they lack in size, we make up in strength. They can trash talk us all they want, but they'll regret what they said once that 1:09 is thrown out of the window."

Dolph VO: "We are the personification of Perfection and the decadence of Dominance. They may think that 1:09 is a tough time to beat, but we'll make this stunt look like a cakewalk. Just watch and learn."

So after that, Beth was positioned into the cannon, while Dolph stood over the platform, hanging onto the end of the crane.

"All right, everyone's ready, and here we go, this is it!" called Joe, while the crane began moving at full speed. "Oh wow, look at Dolph, he's swinging!"

The other teams laughed at this.

"He sorta looks like a fish outta water." Mickie smiled.

"Yeah, like, a big gust of wind just took him!" he agreed. "It's hard to hang in there."

Dolph soon let go of the crane and was dropped into the ocean.

"Ok, time starts...NOW, and he's in the water!" called Joe.

He quickly swam to the buoy, snatched up the flares, and was soon on his way to the raft.

"Oh wow, Dolph made it to the buoy in record time and he's already grabbed the flares. Now he's headed to the raft!" he exclaimed.

"Come on, you're a tool, drop those flares and lose!" Alex called.

Dolph had finally arrived to the raft, but was furiously trying to find the rope to climb up on.

"All right, he's made it to the raft, but he's nowhere near the ladder!" commented the host.

The other teams laughed at this.

"You FAIL!" exclaimed AJ, fist punching with Alex.

"Not good, that is not good, big mistake!" exclaimed Joe.

The bleach blonde swam around the raft until he finally found the rope ladder and climbed. Tossing the flares inside, he used all he had to pull himself up.

"Oh wow, that was a huge screw up, that'll cost them precious time." he continued.

"Yeah, you hear that, Dolphin, you're a screw up!" Alex cried, laughing.

Dolph had eventually made it onto the raft, but THEN had a hard time lighting the flare!

"Oh, now he's having trouble lighting it!" Joe exclaimed.

This time, they all bursted out laughing.

"This is just SAD!" Chris exclaimed, smiling.

"They're losing some more precious time and...Alex, AJ, I think it's time to start celebrating!"

"WHOO!" AJ cheered, sharing another kiss and hug with Alex.

"Just quit now, Dolphin!" he called.

Dolph finally got the flare lit up, connected it to the fuse, igniting the cannon, and sending Beth flying across the ocean, a few feet away from the boat.

"OOH, faceplant!" exclaimed Chris.

"This ain't looking so good...!" agreed Joe.

Beth quickly swam and made her way towards the boat, managing not to slip off, and sped to the pole, clipping the flag.

"And TIME!" called Joe. "1:42."

Beth angrily punched the inside of the boat, while Dolph pulled his hair and screamed in fury. "NOOO!"

"OH!" the gang exclaimed, while Chris and Mickie smiled and high fived.

"YEAH!" the Country Diva cheered.

Zack was busy doing some more fist pumping while Eve quickly kissed him on the cheek. "Whoa! What was that for, Eve?" he smiled.

"You didn't fail us completely, so good work." she nodded.

"And congratulations go to Alex and AJ, for getting the best time..." began Joe.

The two slapped hands with Zack, Chris, and Mickie before fist-punching with one another once again.

"That's how we roll." AJ announced.

"And Chris and Mickie, you didn't get beat by the two Ego-heads." the host finished.

"Hell, that's good enough for us to celebrate!" Sabin exclaimed, wrapping an arm around Mickie's shoulder while she blushed.

"Ooh, Mickie, who's turning a little red?" Joe teased.

"Stop it!" she giggled.

In the boat, Beth told the camera guy, "Ok, that-that was just a fluke! No way we lost against...THOSE people! No way! They have to find a way to keep us on the show."

"Ok, Alex, AJ, why don't you two get together and decide who you want to send home today, all right?" asked Rogan.

"Will do!" he said, taking his girlfriend's hand and heading off.

* * *

The two headed back to chat near the cannon...

"All right, so what do you want to do here?" asked AJ.

"Well, the obvious choice is to keep Chris and Mickie around, we'd have one hell of a competition with them, plus it'd be messed up to send our best friends home." replied Shelley. "So that leaves Ryder and Eve and Dolph and Beth."

"Well, I personally want Eve gone as soon as possible, cause I cannot stand the way she keeps glancing at you like you're her boy-toy." the Diva replied.

"Babe, we gotta keep our personal lives out of it. Besides, those two got the second fastest time, so they're a pretty legit threat."

"So that leaves us with Dolph and Beth. You thinking what I'm thinking?" she asked.

He smiled. "I sure am. Those two creep me out, anyway."

Soon after, both Alex and AJ, and Dolph and Beth joined Joe and the other two teams back on the boardwalk.

"Welcome back, everyone, welcome back. Now, AJ, Alex, you two had to decide who's leaving the competition. Who's the unlucky team?" asked the host.

"Well, this really wasn't a tough decision, to be honest." announced AJ. "The team we chose to leave will be..."

Chris and Mickie looked towards them, curious, Zack and Eve looked a little stiff and nervous, and Dolph and Beth just shot them evil looks.

"Well, PERSONALLY, we wanted to get rid of Zack and Eve, mostly Eve..." she began, when Eve growled and shot her a look.

"But they did get the second best time, so that leaves us with the team that got the LOWEST time, which means we're gonna have to get rid of Dolph and Beth." the Diva announced.

"OH!" everyone cried while Beth lunged to attack AJ. Dolph held her back just in time, fortunately.

"NO! You can't do this to us, we are PERFECTION!" Dolph yelled.

"Well, I'm very sorry, Dolph and Beth, but I'm gonna have to send you packing." Joe said with a small smirk.

"FINE!" Beth growled, turning around and storming off, with Dolph close behind.

"You'll miss us! You will. You ALL will!" he snapped, walking away with Beth a few steps ahead of them.

Chris stifled his laughter.

"They took that pretty well." Joe said sarcastically, while the others laughed.

Meanwhile, the two angry blondes were still storming off in the distance.

Beth VO: "We did NOT expect to be kicked off of the show FIRST, and on the first stunt, it just isn't fair! I'm too mad to say anything else."

Dolph VO: "They knew that we were their biggest threat, so that's the ONLY reason why they picked us first. But trust me, this will be settled again when we meet in the ring."

Back with the gang...

"Well, congratulations to the rest of you for making it to the next round..." began Rogan.

"WHOO!" they cheered.

"I never believed in second chances more than today, WHOO!" Mickie exclaimed, jumping up and down.

"Come with me and we'll see what we have in store for you guys tomorrow, c'mon!" he announced, leading them away as they continued whooping and cheering in triumph.


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32 - Fear Factor: Day Two**

The next day was a Saturday, and the three remaining teams were pumped and ready for what the second challenge had in store for them. That night, it was dark and they were surprised to be walking through this damp, scary looking alley with a few rats scurrying by and some roaches crawling over building walls. Again, the teams wore matching shirts, AJ and Alex in black with matching leather jackets, Chris and Mickie in purple, and Zack and Eve in orange. The teams finally met with Joe, in front of these two dumpsters which were literally overflowing with trash.

"Alex, AJ, love the jackets..." Rogan announced, smiling.

"Thank you, we felt that we had to look badass in order to play badass." Alex replied.

"Well, that's a very edgy look for ya. Now, you ready to see your next challenge?"

"YEAH!" they cheered.

"Here is your next stunt. Uh, oh, buckle up." he announced, gesturing to various large barrels filled with gross-looking substances inside. "You're each gonna have to DIVE into those dumpsters and barrels containing oil, mud, lard, and rotten fish parts."

"Oh, God." Mickie began chuckling along with Chris.

"You and your partner are going to have to retrieve four of the eight possible items submerged in the dumpsters and in the barrels. Those items are: two gas cans, two baseball gloves, two thermoses, a pair of boots, a pair of hard hats, two toasters, two radios, and two tin cans." he explained. "Now, the good news is that no one is going to be eliminated today."

"YAY! WHOO!" the six of them cheered. "All right!"

Chris and Mickie hugged, Alex and AJ fist punched, and Zack reached to hug Eve, but she shoved him away.

"Instead, whichever team can match the items the fastest will win an all-night, all inclusive stay in Las Vegas, Nevada." he continued.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Eve screamed, freaking out in excitement.

"Oh, my God!" AJ exclaimed, hugging Alex while he nodded in agreement.

"VEGAS, baby!" Chris cheered, posing the 'rock on' sign.

"Where you will enjoy luxury, spas, fine dining, live shows, and to make it better, Las Vegas is even giving you $20,000 to spend while you're there." Joe continued.

"Wow, wow, wowee wow!" Mickie exclaimed as the other applauded.

"So a four night trip to Vegas and $20,000 to spend is on the line."

They cheered again.

"Now we have randomly selected today's order, and Alex and AJ, once again, you're lucky number one." he announced. "What do you guys think of this stunt?"

"Hey, it's all good!" she clapped.

"I'm just bummed that this will mess up my hair." Alex chuckled.

"Aw, come on man up, Mohawk!" Joe exclaimed. "C'mon, time to get dirty! You two ready?"

"YEAH!" they exclaimed, before they headed off to their stations.

"All right, predictions?" he asked the two teams.

"I think that AJ's too small to even climb into that dumpster, and even if she does, she might drown." Eve said simply.

"Oh, says you! They kicked ass yesterday, so I think they'll do a bang up job." replied Mickie.

"Here here!" agreed Chris.

Soon enough, Alex and AJ were standing a few feet away from the two large dumpsters.

"Ok, are you two ready to do this?" called Joe.

"READY!"

"In 3...2...1...GO!"

The clock began when Alex headed straight for one of the dumpsters while AJ submerged herself in the oil barrel, the stuff spilling everywhere.

"DAMN!" Chris exclaimed, shocked.

"All right, AJ chose the oil barrel, Alex went for the dumpster." said Rogan. "Look at AJ, she's COVERED in oil!"

Alex leapt into the dumpster, and groaned once he saw that aside from garbage, there was also dirty, trashy liquid inside, too. "They gotta unscrew whatever they find at the bottom of that barrel." he continued.

"Gas can!" Alex called, tossing it to the ground.

"Gas can, that's one of em!"

"Hard hat!" he called next.

"Alex found a gas can and a hard hat." clarified Joe.

AJ could barely see with the oil dripping through her hair and getting into her eyes, but she tossed out another hard hat.

"Another hard hat, good!" he called.

She placed her items onto two other barrels, plus some unfamiliar substance. "So got a hard hat, a gas can, and what is that, a bowl? That's a no go."

The Diva grabbed the second hat that Alex had found and placed it next to the one that she found.

"That hard hat is a match, the bowl is not!" called the host.

Alex crawled from one dumpster into another, soon taking out a shoe.

"He's got a shoe!"

AJ dug through the mud barrel and found one of the toasters.

"Gas can-no, toaster!"

She moved onto the lard barrel and dug out a shoe.

"The second shoe, good job!"

Alex called from the dumpster, "Babe, get the bowl outta there, we don't need it!"

"Ok, so far, we got the hard hats, the toasters, and the shoes!" called Joe.

AJ was furiously digging through the fishy barrel, while Alex tossed out...

"Thermos!"

She rushed to grab the thermos, and placed it next to the one she had found.

"TIME!" called Joe.

"That's what I'm TALKING about!" Alex cheered, sending a double thumbs-up her way.

She couldn't really talk since she was literally a mess, but she smiled and sent him a double thumbs-up in return.

* * *

Moments later...

Zack, Chris, and Mickie all applauded their friends as they returned to the group, towels slung over their shoulders.

"AJ, Alex, welcome back. Now, when you guys had to go into the barrels to retrieve those items, you needed to unscrew the things and then pull them out, right?" asked Joe.

"Yeah?" replied AJ.

"All of the things you found in those barrels were connected with a bolt, so you had to uncrew the bolt, and once you got it off, then you take the items out. You didn't do that. What you did do was yank them, and you broke all these key rings." he explained, holding up a shoe.

"Wow, babe, I didn't know you were that strong." Alex chuckled, turning to his girlfriend while she blushed.

"AJ's a little firecracker. Now, your time doesn't mean anything because you're disqualified from this event since you didn't follow the rules." he announced.

"Hey, you know what, that's all right!" AJ nodded, clapping along with Shelley. "We're not going home, so that's all that matters."

"That's absolutely right, you're still in the running for $50,000, you're not eliminated, and you're still coming back tomorrow." agreed Joe.

"We'll take it like a couple of champs." Alex agreed.

"Ok, so Chris, Mickie, you're on deck, you two ready for this?" he asked.

They looked at each other and high fived once again. "Dude, we are ready to get down and dirty!" exclaimed Mickie.

"You're ready to get down and dirty?" he asked, amused.

"Hells yeah, I know this chick and she's not afraid of this stuff, just you watch." Chris agreed.

"Well, if you're ready, go ahead and position yourselves, good luck!" called Joe as they headed off.

"Good luck, you guys!" exclaimed AJ.

"Remember to unscrew the-the things, I already forgot." Alex shook his head.

Soon, both Mickie and Chris were ready for action.

"Remember, this is for four nights in Las Vegas and $20,000! Ready in 3...2..1..GO!"

The two sped for the dumpsters and leapt into them both at once.

"Ok, they're both going for the dumpsters at the same time, no hesitation." commented Rogan.

Items were flying left and right, and it was confusing to see what was found and what wasn't.

"Ok, I see a gas can...a glove, got a helmet...shoe, and a thermos, nice job."

Next, Sabin and James leapt out of the dumpsters, dripping wet, and sped for the barrels next. Chris headed for the fishy one, as Mickie headed for the lard barrel.

"I see they're taking a daintier approach." he announced.

The two decided not to submerge their heads into the stuff, and used their hands to feel around for anything. Not really having much progress, Mickie had to dip her head into the lardy mess.

"Yep, she's digging her head into there-well, you kinda have to, right?" asked Joe.

"Bro, that's so sick." replied Zack.

"I am not dipping my head in any of that." Eve shuddered.

Chris finally tossed out a helmet from the fishy barrel.

"Ok, there's the other helmet. Wow, they're moving slow." said Joe.

A mess covered Mickie tossed out a shoe.

"All right, you have a match with the helmets and the shoes, keep it going!" he called. "You matched up two, you need two more!"

Chris moved onto the mud barrel, as Mickie headed to the fishy one this time.

"Coming up on 3:00 guys, let's GO!"

With tons and tons of searching though, nothing much was produced.

Minutes later...

"...4:45! Come on guys!"

The Detroit native finally emerged from the mud, tossing out a shoe.

"Ok, on the barrels so far they have matched the shoes, one of the helmets is on the floor..."

More and more time had passed, and Chris still hadn't found anything from the barrel of lard.

Joe rolled his eyes a little and turned to Eve and Zack. "Guys, you've got this. Right?"

Eve smiled devilishly while Zack grinned and nodded.

"We sure as hell have this." the Latina agreed confidently.

"Woo WOO woo-"

"Shut UP, Zack!" she snapped.

Meanwhile, Chris had finally found the other gas can and rushed to place it onto another barrel.

"Good job, hey there's a helmet on the ground, put on the trash can with the other one, hurry!" called Joe, while Chris did just that. "You have three matched up so far! You need one more thing and that's it!"

Sabin rushed to the oil tank and whipped out the second glove, placing it next to the first one.

"And TIME!" he finished.

Alex and AJ applauded for their friends once again.

"It's all right, you guys, you did good!" exclaimed April.

"Your time is 7:21." announced Joe.

Disappointed yet again, the two looked at one another while Chris shrugged sheepishly and called, "Sorry!"

"Nah, it wasn't your fault." the Country Diva shook it off.

* * *

A little later, the last team were positioned in front of the obstacles in front of them.

"Zack, Eve, you guys ready?" called the host.

"Yeah, bro!" exclaimed Zack.

"Shut up and focus, peon." she muttered. "I WANT that trip to Vegas."

"What did you call me?"

"All right, the time to beat is 7:13! If you can beat that, you will be on your way to Vegas with $20,000, if not, it all goes to Chris and Mickie. Ready in 3...2...1..GO!" called Joe.

The two followed Sabin and James's strategy and gunned straight for the dumpsters first, while Eve looked vaguely disgusted the entire time.

"This is so GROSS!" she yelled. "Here!"

"All right, Eve found a helmet...Zack found a gas can..." commented Joe. "They got a boot...toaster!"

"Damn it, FAIL!" yelled Mickie.

"Come on, Eve, you might break a nail or something, so just quit!" agreed Chris. "We want to party in Vegas!"

"Zack, ignore them and head to the barrels, all right?" demanded Eve.

"But what about-"

"HEAD TO THE BARRELS!" she screamed.

Ryder quickly leapt out of the dumpster and headed to the mud barrel, dunking face first into the stuff.

"Zack's digging through the mud barrel." announced Joe.

Eve tossed out a thermos and yelled, "Come on, Zack, MOVE!"

"You got a helmet, a boot, a gas can..."

"Zack, come over here and help me out of this thing!" she cried.

He felt that he was about to grab something from out of the barrel, but dropped everything to rush back and help his teammate from out of the dumpster. He lifted her up and nearly dropped her before she had to set herself upright.

"You almost dropped me, you moron!" she hissed.

"Sorry!" he exclaimed.

"Wow, he manhandled her, you see that?" asked Joe.

Zack returned to the mud barrel, while Eve (reluctantly) dunked her head into the fishy barrel, finding absolutely nothing.

"Eve, you gotta be more aggressive, let's GO!" he called. "Mickie and Chris are already booking their tickets for Celine Dion!"

Mickie, Alex, and AJ laughed while Chris smiled and asked, "What?"

Later...

"Coming up on 3 and a half minutes, guys you gotta hustle, let's GO!" exclaimed Rogan. "Eve get in there! Hold your breath and dive in there, come on!"

While Zack moved on to the oil barrel, Eve was still stuck where she was over 3 minutes ago. "Eve, you're the weak link right now, hold your breath and GO IN!"

Timid and terrified, Eve tried to dig into the barrel, but still found nothing. Covered in oil, Zack wasn't doing any better, either.

Later AGAIN...

"5:00!" he called.

Even later...

"These two are 1:30 away from Vegas!" he called, once Mickie and Chris smirked, silently knuckle punching one another.

Later and later...

"6:30 in, you guys have 45 seconds left! You can still do this!" he called.

"No, they can't." Chris shook his head, smiling.

Seconds later...

"10 SECONDS!" yelled Joe.

"9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1!" the two counted along.

"Congratulations!" Joe exclaimed to the two, as they yelped in delight and wrapped themselves in a big hug.

"YAY! Oh my God, Vegas is OURS!" the Country Diva exclaimed.

"Hell YEAH!" Sabin cheered along, slapping hands with Alex and AJ while they cheered for their friends.

"Eve, Zack, it's over." announced Joe.

"Eve, I'm sorry-" he began.

The Latina shoved him away. "Don't talk to me, Zack."

"Chris, Mickie, congratulations, you two have won a trip for four to Las Vegas..." the host began, placing Vegas chips into their hands. "...A four night stay, plus $20,000, excellent job!"

"Thanks a lot, man!" Chris smiled, still having one arm wrapped around Mickie.

"So Mickie, you forgive him for cheating on you now?" he asked.

She smirked and replied, "Look, I'm just glad he put in as much work as I did and helped to land us in Vegas, let's just leave it at that."

"All right, well let's grab Eve and Zack and see what we have in store for you guys tomorrow, let's go." he replied, leading the gang away.

As they headed off, Zack tried one more time to get on Eve's good side, but she was too pissed to deal with him and shoved him back so hard that he fell down on his ass. "Eve, come on, don't be that way!" he cried.


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33 - Fear Factor: Day Three**

The next day was a Sunday, and it was the day of the final stunt, where one team would be walking away with $50,000. The three teams walked down this abandoned raceway track, once again in matching shirts. Alex and AJ in red, Chris and Mickie in black, and Zack and Eve in yellow.

Soon enough, they all met with Joe.

"Hey, everyone, what's up!" he greeted.

"Hey, man, how's it going?-What's up!" they exclaimed.

"Congratulations to you all for making it to the final stunt!"

"Yeeeeeahhh..." smiled Alex while they applauded.

"And a big congratulations to Mickie and Chris for winning the previous stunt, plus Vegas and $20 grand, now here is your final stunt..."

Right then and there, a helicopter was shown hovering over two rows of various obstacles placed along the racetrack.

"As that helicopter flies above, it will be dragging both you and your partner on your stomachs across this asphalt. Along the way, you'll be smashing through exploding walls and barrels. When you break through your final obstacle, you will let go and see how far across you can slide towards the finish line. Whichever team makes it closest to the finish line will become the Fear Factor champions, and will win $50,000. Now we have randomly selected today's order, and Chris, Mickie, you are lucky number one."

"Yay, all right!" exclaimed the Diva.

"Oh, I'm stoked, this is gonna rule." Sabin agreed.

"Just so you guys know, it's your COMBINED total distance to the line that will count up. Ready?"

"YEAH!"

"All right, well, you guys go put on your gear and good luck to ya!"

"Thank you!" Chris called as they headed off.

"Whoo! Good luck, guys!" cheered AJ.

"You know what they might do? They might not even let go, they might just hang on and enjoy the ride for the hell of it!" exclaimed Alex. "They've already won $20 grand and Vegas, so they probably don't even care anymore."

"Which already makes US more deserving of the win." stated AJ.

"No, no, no, Zack and I deserve to win. We may have had a setback yesterday, but we've got this one in the bag, just watch." Eve replied.

* * *

Meanwhile...

"This is it, Mickie, we've made it to the finals. How you feeling?" asked Chris.

"Both nervous and excited, hoping that this won't kill us." she smiled. "So uh, can you believe that we're headed to Vegas?"

"I'll tell ya this. If I had to go to Vegas with anyone, I'd still pick you as my first choice. That's the one thing that's never gonna change."

She smiled and kissed his cheek. "Well, even though a part of me is still mad at you, I'm still glad that you're my partner and we've worked as hard as we did to make it this far. You'll always be my best friend, Chrismeister."

"And you'll always be mine, Sweet Mickie. So, you ready to do this?"

She knuckle punched with him. "Let's do it!"

Moments later, both Mickie and Chris were geared up in these racing suits, with her in red and him in black. They were positioned across their stomachs over the ground, holding onto these mini platforms in which the helicopter hovering above was about to drag.

"All right, this is it, they're off!" Joe exclaimed once the helicopter began flying, dragging the two at around 50-60 mph across the ground. Moments later, they approached their first obstacle, which were two walls. Once they crashed into the walls, they exploded on impact as the others watching cried out in surprise and awe. Mickie and Chris weren't harmed, of course, but even they thought that was pretty epic. As they were still being dragged, they eventually ran through about 4 more exploding walls, before crashing into some barrels, and right then and there, Mickie let go first, followed by Chris. He slid WAY past the finish line, where Mickie was sliding and just barely made it across, too.

"...Whoo!" exclaimed Alex. "Damn, that was awesome!"

"Wow, Mickie stopped ON the line, Chris made it past by quite a bit, but Mickie landed perfect." announced Joe.

Chris told the camera guy, "You know what, I was the one who screwed up by letting go too late, but Mickie, see, I love that woman because she is a genius! We GOT this contest!"

Moments later...

"Welcome back, Mickie and Chris." greeted Rogan.

"Nice job, very nice!" applauded AJ.

"Lucky break." Eve shrugged. "Big deal, we'll do even better."

"No, you know what helped me stop perfectly over the line? These babies." Mickie smiled, pointing to her chest. "Eve, see you're a little flat, sweetie, so you might not have the same leverage."

"OH!" the others exclaimed.

The Latina protectively covered her chest. "Stop it!"

"Ok, so 43 ft, 6 in was your total." Joe told the two. "We almost lost Chris, but Mickie, you stopped dead onto the line. How the hell did you do that?"

"I told you, it was the jugs!" she exclaimed. "See, you're not a woman, so you wouldn't understand."

She slapped hands with AJ. "Right on!" the tiny Diva agreed.

"All right, well Eve, Zack, you're up next. You two ready?" he asked.

"Oh definitely. Zack WILL make up for the disaster that happened yesterday, and we'll be sending these four packing." the Latina replied. "Right Zack?"

"Y-"

"Good."

"Ok, time to gear you two up, so good luck out there."

"We don't need luck! I'm Eve Marie Torres!" she called back, practically dragging Zack with her.

* * *

Moments later, the two were out on the racetrack, with Eve in red gear and Zack in blue.

"All right, Eve's in red, Zack's in blue, and... they're off, here we go!" Rogan exclaimed as the helicopter flew ahead and the two were dragged ahead, speeding faster and faster by the minute. They sped through 1...2...3...4 exploding walls, but once they crashed through the barrels, Eve didn't see that Zack had already let go.

"Look, he's off, he's off!" Chris pointed out. "We got this!"

Not long after, Eve let go and flew a good distance across the finish line. She looked back to find Zack nowhere near the finish line and screamed through her helmet, "DAMN IT, ZAAAAACCCCKKKK!"

"Wow, Zack stopped WAY short." Joe pointed out. "He let go early, it's looking good for Mickie and Chris."

"Yessss..." the Diva smiled, slapping Chris' hand.

"Well, the good news is that we won't have to hear an earful of Eve, the bad news is that it's over for them." he continued.

"Good riddance." AJ replied.

"Aww, watch them walk away in the sunset." Alex said mockingly.

Zack approached Eve, took off his helmet, and said, "Hey, Eve, I'm sorry I screwed up. But y'know, even if we didn't win, we could still go out sometime-"

"I HATE YOU, I HATE YOU, I HATE YOU!" Eve screamed, tossing her helmet at him and pretty much chasing him down the runway, with him literally running for his life.

"All right, well let's move on to Alex and AJ, this is it. You guys ready?" he asked.

"Let's get rollin'!" Shelley replied.

"I dunno, I'm a little scared." AJ said cutely.

"Scared? Aw, a tiny little thing like you, scared?" smiled Joe. "Come on, you had no problem hustling through the first two stunts."

"Well, I'm super scared!"

"SUPER scared!" he repeated. "What exactly are you scared of? Explosions, scraping?"

"Yeah, all of it. I'm usually a pretty tough chick-"

"You ARE a tough chick." Alex corrected her.

"But I dunno, it just looks so intimidating. Mickie and Chris made it look so easy, so I applaud them for it."

"They could be trying to psych you out, though."

"It doesn't matter, they may be our best friends, but we're still going through with it and we're gonna beat em." Alex replied confidently.

"No you're not, dillhole." Chris smirked.

"Well, it's time to get you guys geared up, you ready?" asked Joe.

"Yeah!" they cheered.

"Ok, your combined distance has to be less than 43 ft, 6 in. You guys beat that, you win $50,000. If not, it all goes to Chris and Mickie. Good luck to you!" he replied once they headed off. "So how do you guys think they'll do?"

"Well, to be honest, we were hoping to face them in the finals, because we know how to put on one hell of a show together, so this should be good." Chris nodded.

"But I still think that we'll do better than them." Mickie added.

"You two gonna get back together if you win the $50 grand?" he asked with a smirk.

The two looked at one another and chuckled.

"There's no amount of money that can take back what he did to me, Joe." replied the Diva.

"Ouch! See how harsh she is?" Sabin asked, pretending to be hurt. Well, a small part of him really was hurting on the inside, but he shook it off.

* * *

Moments later, the couple was geared up with Alex in blue and AJ in black. "Here we go, helicopter's fired up, they're in position, and...they're off!" he called.

The helicopter flew ahead, once again sending the couple flying across the road, with them gripping on for dear life. Soon enough, they crashed through 1...2...3...4 exploding walls, and AJ was pretty shaken up by each impact. After they crashed through the barrels, she let go first, followed by Alex, before they both slid to a complete stop.

Chris and Mickie inspected the scene, concerned.

"That's close. WAY too close." Mickie said.

"I think they won." replied Sabin. "They probably won it."

"Damn." she whispered quietly. "Well y'know, if we lost, at least Eve the Loudmouth Bass didn't beat us, right?"

Chris laughed. "That's always a huge victory."

"I don't know, you guys, Alex made it pretty close to the line. Neither of them landed dead on it like Mickie, but Chris, you went pretty far. We'll see if they made it past 43 ft, 6 in." replied Joe.

Moments later, AJ and Alex joined their friends for some celebratory handshakes.

"Nice f-ing work out there, you guys, we're proud of ya." Chris told them.

"Well, Alex, AJ, how do you guys think you did?" asked Rogan.

"Well, I'll tell you the truth, not very hot." the tiny Diva said, shaking her head.

"Not hot at all. And I feel that it was my fault." Alex replied.

"All right, well Chris, Mickie, you two may have came out lucky yesterday, and today, you've come out even luckier because their distance was 101ft, 5 in, you guys have just won $50,000!" he announced, to their shock and surprise.

"AAAHHHHH!" she screamed, leaping up into Chris's arms and wrapping her legs around his waist while he wrapped an arm around her waist and pumped up a fist, cheering, "WHOOOO HOO HOO HOO HOOOOO!"

"All right, they're good, they're good!" Alex smiled, applauding for their friends along with AJ.

"If it were anyone else we'd be pissed, but you two deserve it." she agreed.

The two were still cheering when they approached Joe and had him join in on the group hug, before he announced, "Congratulations, you guys! You prevailed through the first stunt, won a trip to Vegas and $20,000 on the second, and today, you two walk away with $50,000! And evidently, fear is not a factor for you! Congrats!"

"WHOO!" Mickie cheered, so excited that she grabbed onto Chris and leaned down to wrap him in a surprisingly passionate kiss! Stunned, they both pulled away, their faces flushed a bright pink color. "Um, hehe. Congratulations, partner." she said timidly.

"Yeah, uh, right back at ya." he chuckled, still in shock from both the win and the fact that she actually kissed him again. But he shook it off, knowing all too well that she only kissed him in the heat of the moment and in the excitement of winning. Once they got back home, things would unfortunately be the same for them as how they were before they left. But in the meantime, he was definitely going to enjoy this moment while it still lasted.


	34. Chapter 34

**_AN: Much thanks to VIXXY VAMPIRE for the new review!_**

* * *

**Chapter 34**

On the plane ride back from the show, Alex, AJ, Chris, and Mickie all seemed to be in good spirits after everything they've won and everything they've went through over the last three days...

AJ snuggled into Alex's side while he wrapped an arm around her. "So was that one hell of a ride or was that one HELL of a ride?" Shelley asked, smiling.

"Never in my wildest dreams would I believe that I'd be shot out of a cannon, be dunked into lard, oil, mud, and fish guts, and be dragged across a runway by a helicopter." the Diva replied, grabbing his hand. "But you know what? Even though we didn't win the cash, it's all right. What matters is that I had the time of my life with you and our friends."

He kissed the top of her head. "Touche, babe, touche. I wouldn't trade these last three days for anything in the world...Plus, we beat Eve, Ziggles, and Beth, so we get some sweet bragging rights to go along with it. Still, it would've been nice to win that trip to Vegas, though."

"I dunno, Shells, I'm kinda glad that we didn't win the trip."

He raised an eyebrow. "You are?"

"Yeah, I mean don't get me wrong, Vegas is awesome and the place to be, but I'd still rather take that trip to Japan with you. I know this just started off as a fantasy, but Alex, I really, really want us to go there! We have to make plans over the summer to head there for at least a week. Please, Alex, please?" the Diva said, batting her eyes.

He chuckled. "Aw, you know that I can't resist that look. But no worries, babe, honestly, I couldn't stop thinking about Japan either, and like I said, I promise that I'll take ya there. The only issue we'd worry about is how to gain a week off from work, and that won't be such an easy thing."

"Well, we have to try, Alex. Nothing's gonna stop us from having our dream getaway. Plus, I'd love to get a few Hello Kitty plushies for my little 4 year old cousin, she loves those." AJ said with a smile.

"Oh really? What's her name?" he asked.

"Lydia, she is the craziest, most energetic little kid that you'll ever meet."

"Hey, I love crazy energy, so your cuz sounds all right in my book!" Alex exclaimed.

"I hope she does! Hey, I oughta introduce you to her one day, I think she'd love you!" she exclaimed back, getting a little excited. "You good with kids?"

"Eh...well, to tell you the truth, sometimes I feel that I'm a little awkward with em. I DID babysit my neighbor's kid years ago when I was 15, though."

"And what happened?"

"...The cops were involved and I never got paid for any of my services that night, unfortunately." he said, shaking his head. "It's a long and painful story."

"Aww, Shelleykins..." she said, patting his back. "The same will not happen if you met Lydia, I promise. Now I'm not gonna lie, she can be quite a handful, but once you get to know her, you'd love her. You wouldn't feel awkward at all!"

"Ok, if you say so, then I'll take your word for it! When do I get to meet lil' Lydia?" he asked.

"Hmm, well she lives with her mother, aka, my older cousin in Florida, so if we ever head back there, you'll get to meet her there. Besides, you and her have a lot in common - you're both a handful and it seems like I always have to pick up after the two of you." AJ said, smirking.

"Oh, are you comparing me to a 4 year old?" he cried, pretending to be offended. "Am I that bad?"

"You still play with bath toys!"

"...So?" he asked after a pause.

"Aw, just face it, you're a child and so am I. And I wouldn't have you any other way." the tiny Diva grinned, giving him a quick, but sweet kiss. Then, the two turned around to find Mickie and Chris sitting next to one another in the row behind them, seeing her blankly looking out of the window and Chris listening to music on his headphones, looking into space and tapping his leg to the beat.

"Wow, for two people who just won a trip to Vegas and $70,000, they look bummed out." announced Alex.

"I guess they still feel a little awkward about the kiss they shared after they won. Hope they'll snap out of it before the plane lands." replied April.

While Mickie kept gazing out of the window, she had totally mixed emotions, which was pretty understandable for her. On the plus side, she won a great deal of cash and a trip to remember, not to mention having one hell of a time on one of the craziest game shows out there. And having Chris, the man she still loved, as her partner to share it all with made her smile, too.

But on the other hand, she kept reminding herself that none of this would change anything between them. He had still cheated on her, and she just couldn't forgive him for that. Her thoughts were interrupted once her hand accidentally bumped into his. "Oh, I'm sorry, Chris." she turned to him.

He slipped off his headphones. "Oh, no, it's my fault, sorry." he nodded quickly.

Silence.

She turned away, but glanced back at him while he glanced back at her.

"So uh, what happens now?" he asked, breaking the silence.

"You mean...after the kiss?" she asked slowly.

"Yeah. It's been bugging me ever since we left, and I just need to know: was that kiss for real?" he asked. "Or were you just caught up in the heat of the moment?"

The Diva sighed, not wanting to hurt his feelings. "Maybe a little of both. Once we were announced as the winners, I was so excited and you were just there, so I just had to." she replied, but before he could get too excited, she continued, "But this still doesn't change anything between us."

"I was afraid you'd say that." he replied in almost a whisper.

Mickie looked up at him, her features softening once she placed her hand over his. "We're still best friends, Chris, nothing will ever change that. There's no changing the fact that I love you, but the most we could be is friends and only friends."

"So is this a permanent thing now?" he demanded. "We can never be anything more than friends ever again? Mickie, spare me here, I just made one mistake that'll never happen again!"

"You CHEATED on me, Chris!" she snapped, trying not to be too loud. "You had sex with another woman, and lied to me about it for weeks! You also said that you were still in love with Velvet! How could I ever forgive you for that, especially while Velvet's still here?"

"Don't you think I've tried again and again to apologize to you for that? You think I'd still be working my ass off to try and make it up to you if I didn't care? Now yeah, I still care about Velvet, there's no changing that, but you...I've never been crazier for anyone else since I met you, and what I want more than anything is to have us back. Velvet could never take your place. Ever." he explained, his eyes piercing into hers. "I don't think I could ever take us being just friends."

She sniffled and replied, "That's very sweet of you, hun, but friends are the most we could be. Unless you don't even want that anymore."

"Mickie, no, of course I don't want that." he sighed regretfully. "Ok, Mickie, you're my best friend in the world, and that's how it shall be. Shake on it?"

The perky Diva managed to giggle, and shook his hand. "Shake on it...BFF." she smiled.

Pleased to hear that they were at least on good terms, he chuckled and smiled back, allowing her to rest her head on his shoulder for the rest of the flight. It would sure take some getting used to, but at least he still had her in some way.

* * *

A couple of hours later, it was early Monday, and the four had returned to the hotel that the Raw crew was currently staying in. Once they strolled through the lobby, they caught the eyes of Dolph, Beth, and Eve.

"Hey, guys, what's news!" Alex exclaimed, intentionally trying to piss them off. "Guess who came back with over $50 grand?"

"Oh that's right, not you!" answered Chris.

"Plus, a trip to Vegas doesn't sound too shabby either, but we don't want to brag...Aw hell, yes we do!" Mickie laughed.

"Ok, all right, just let it out. Let it ALL out!" Dolph exclaimed.

"Just face it, guys. Whatever you can do, we can do it WAY better!" AJ finished.

"Oh, whatever! You four listen to us and you listen good. You Guns may have won the battle, but you damn well haven't won the war. We will get over this embarrassment and overcome the odds by eventually eliminating you all. Then, you'll wish you hadn't talked back to us." explained Eve. "How's that sound?"

The Guns looked at one another before bursting out in laughter, walking past them and heading up to their room.

"Aw, you guys are such kidders! Catch you later tonight at the show!" Alex called, waving.

Moments later, they arrived back to their room. "Ah, it is so good to be back in the comfort of a hotel room." Mickie smiled. "So, what do you guys want to do now, head to the gym?"

"Sounds like a plan." agreed Shelley. "Hey uh, where's Velvet? She still here?"

"Hopefully not." she muttered in reply.

Chris looked onto the bed to find a note, and looked a little puzzled. "Hey, wait a sec. What's this?" he asked, picking it up.

"Read it." said AJ.

"_'To whomever it may concern:_

_I've obviously made one too many mistakes, and I can see that it's taken a toll on all of you, especially you, Chris._

_I can tell that I'm unwanted here, and I've made the very tough decision to...leave and never come back. All I've done is cause trouble, and I deserve to be punished for hurting people who've treated me as one of their own._

_And no, I didn't take the flight back to Florida. I've gone to Atlantic point, y'know, where the cliff overlooks the highway._

_If you're just reading this letter...then it's probably already too late.'_" he finished shakily.

Shocked to hear all this, the others stared, wide eyed.

"Oh-oh, my God, did-did Velvet write that?" AJ asked quietly.

He nodded, still holding the chilling letter in his hand. "_'P.S., I love you, Chris.'_" he finished.

"Oh man, is that a suicide letter?" asked Alex. "No way, no, she couldn't! She can't."

Mickie, on the other hand was suddenly feeling terrible for her enemy. She didn't know that things would go this far.

"It's not too late, is it? We have to go and find her!" AJ exclaimed.

"No, guys, you stay here, I'll go. I'm the only one she wants to see." Chris replied in a rush, dropping the letter.

"Chris!" called Mickie.

He turned back.

"Bring her back in one piece." she said quietly.

He nodded and rushed off.

"I can't believe she would go this far." Shelley replied, shaking his head. "Aw, man, before we left, I remember the last time I talked to her, I was...I was pretty cruel towards her."

"So was I." agreed AJ.

"I was the worst." Mickie shook her head. "Look, we can't think the worst, ok? I'm sure that Chris'll talk some sense into her and she'll be all right. He has to."


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter 35**

Luckily, Atlantic point wasn't too far from where the gang's hotel was, and now, Velvet stood near the edge of the cliff, dejectedly looking down towards the highway below. It was at least a good 10 stories down. Not taking her eyes off of the ground, she was about to take a step forward, but then tensed up and stepped back a little. She tried to coach herself to go through with it, since she truly believed that nobody would miss her. The blonde was pretty strained with her parents lately, and the only close friends she had pretty much rejected her and she felt like they had abandoned her. So who else was left? As the breeze picked up, Velvet was about to take that fatal step, before hearing a voice call, "Jamie, stop!"

She knew all too well whose voice it belonged to. Not turning around to face him, she replied, "You shouldn't be here, Chris. Just turn back before you see something you don't want to see."

"No, I'm not going anywhere!" he exclaimed, slowly approaching her. "We all found your letter on the bed, why the hell are you here doing this?"

"Why do you think? I won't be where I'm not wanted, and life isn't treating me so well, so don't you think I have a right to be here?" she asked back.

"No, you don't. Jamie, I'm not going to stand here and watch you do this to yourself!" he cried.

"Chris, please."

"You ARE wanted here. Look, I know that we've all been a little harsh towards you lately, but we had no idea that you'd go ahead and do this! When we found this letter, we were worried sick about you, we didn't know whether you were alive or dead! I'm just glad I got here before it was too late."

"I single-handedly salvaged your relationship with Mickie, shouldn't you be wanting to shove me off of this cliff? I know you want to." replied Velvet.

"How could you say such a thing?" he asked, feeling tears in his eyes. "Jamie, I had just as much to do with us sleeping together behind Mickie's back, but the damage has already been done. You can't beat yourself up like this, Vel, I...I love you."

Silent tears streamed down her face. "No, you don't."

"If I didn't love you, I wouldn't be here trying to talk some sense into you. Now please, just grab my hand and let me take you back home." he pleaded, outstretching his hand and cautiously approaching her.

She looked back down at the highway, and then turned around to face him. Seeing the pain evident in his expression, she felt a little guilty.

"Don't do this, Vel, please. You know how broken I'd be if I'd lost you forever?" he continued.

The Knockout bit her lower lip before turning around to grab his hand, allowing him to pull her into him for an embrace. "Oh, Jamie..." he sighed, tightly wrapping his arms around her.

Feeling safe in his arms, she began to break down as she buried her face into his shoulder. "Chris...I'm sorry..." she sobbed.

"Don't worry about it. You're safe with me now, don't worry." he replied, soothingly roaming a hand up and down her back, as a tear came down his face. He kissed her cheek. "You still have too much to live for."

She looked up at him. "I love you so much. You know, I-I was secretly hoping that you'd come and stop me before I'd do something that I could never take back." she said in a choked whisper.

"Hey, as soon as I read that letter, I got here as fast as I could to save you. Listen, promise me that you'll never do anything this crazy or stupid again, ok? Promise me."

She nodded and looked into his eyes. "I promise."

"Good. Now c'mon, let's get you back home now."

Later, back at the hotel...

Alex was blankly channel flipping while AJ was curled up beside him on the bed, and Mickie was absentmindedly twirling a strand of her hair, as they waited for their friends to return.

"Alex, how could you even think about TV at a time like this?" asked the tiny Diva.

"I'm not. But whenever I'm nervous about something, it's a habit of mine to go channel flipping. You guys think that Chris was able to talk some sense into Velvet?" he asked.

"I sure hope so. I hope he found her before it was too late." replied AJ. "I still can't believe she did such a thing."

Mickie really had nothing else to add at the moment, since she was still deep in thought. A huge part of her hated Velvet for tearing her and Chris apart, but another part of her felt horrible that she went on to do something this drastic. But soon enough, their prayers were answered once Chris and Velvet returned.

Alex dropped the remote while AJ got up and wrapped her in a hug. "Oh my God, Vel, are you ok? We were all so worried about you!"

She smiled and hugged her back. "I'm ok, April, don't worry. Chris saved me."

Shelley approached her next with a sheepish grin on his face. "Uh, hi, Velvet."

"Hi, Alex." she smirked a little.

"So um, Vel, I'm really sorry that I've been a huge jerk to you lately. I'm just happy that Chris brought you back home safe." he said seriously. "Could you ever forgive me?"

"Well...you were mean to me the last time we spoke, but I forgive you. Come here." she chuckled once they shared a hug.

Next, Mickie slowly got up and (sort of) approached her. Velvet turned to look at her. "Hi."

"Hi." the Country Diva said quietly. "I'm uh, glad that you're all right. Wait - you ARE all right, aren't you?"

She nodded. "Thanks to him, I'm fine."

Mickie nodded back. "Good. Because we still want you to stay here for as long as you need to. Even me."

Velvet managed to smile and replied, "Thank you, Mickie. That really means a lot to me."

"Well, since we're all like a big, happy family again, I say we head out to the gym and get our workout on before the show tonight! How about it?" announced Alex.

"'Get our workout on'?" Chris repeated, amused. "That the best you can come up with?"

"Oh shut up, dillhole! I'm in a good mood, don't try and bring me down!" he snapped back.

"But it's fun!" he laughed back. "And Vel, afterwards, we'll take you out for ice cream, my treat...no, Alex's treat, ok?"

"Heh?" Shelley demanded.

Velvet laughed. "Well, as long as I don't have to pay, sure!"

"Awesome, let's get outta here, then. Ladies first." Chris smiled, letting her go through first.

"Hey, wait a damn minute here, I'm not paying for jack-squat! And don't you even start calling me cheap, cause I'm not!" Alex cried, following them next.

AJ laughed, but then turned around to find Mickie hanging back with her arms crossed and looking down at the floor. "Mickie? You ok?"

"Hmm? Oh yeah, I was just thinking." she replied.

"Mind telling your BFF what's on your mind?" she asked. "Wait, is it about-"

"Actually, AJ, it's not that important. Forget I said anything, c'mon, let's join the others." she mustered a smile, leading the confused Diva away.

* * *

Later that night, the gang was once again in their locker room, preparing for the next episode of Raw...

"So, Velvet's gonna be all right back at the hotel on her own?" Alex asked, lacing up his boots.

"Yep, she's better off there than in here on her own. I sure as hell don't want a repeat of what happened the last time with Dave and his goons coming in here and terrorizing her." Chris replied.

"Hey, speaking of which, do you know if Dave's still holding that X-rated tape of you and Velvet or has he gotten rid of it?" he asked.

He sighed. "To tell you the truth, I forgot all about that until you brought it up again."

"Whoops, sorry dude." he smirked.

"Ah, it's all right. I haven't seen much of him lately, so that's a good sign to say the least." Next, he went to place his phone into his bag, but paused once he saw his phone's background wallpaper, the picture of Mickie that he loved the most. He couldn't help but to smile at this, when Alex poked his head in and said, "Aw, Sabin, you DO still love her, don't you?"

"You know I do, man. But she made it clear that she wanted to be just friends, and I respect her decision. No matter how much it kills me on the inside."

"Well, not to make a bad situation even worse, but back at the ice cream place, and even at the gym, you and Velvet were pretty close. As in more-than-friends close. Dude, just do yourself a huge favor and choose one of them, all right? I personally think that you should choose Mickie." replied Shelley.

"Alex, I just told you that she-"

"Only wants to be just friends, I know, but you should know that what she says and what she thinks are two entirely different things! She may not be telling you this out loud, but I'm sure that she wants you back just as bad as you want her."

"You just don't understand, Shells. You don't understand how difficult it is to have to be torn between two women that you care about." Sabin sighed, closing his eyes and leaning back against the wall.

He nodded. "To be honest, I don't understand."

Chris shot him a look.

"Yeah, me and April are as happy as lovers can be, so I don't have to be conformed to such stress on a daily basis." he smiled.

"...Thanks, _pal._" he retorted.

"You're welcome!"

Next, Punk lightly knocked on the door and poked his head in. "Hey, guys, room for one more?"

"Sure, there's always room for ya!" replied Alex. "So what's news with you?"

"Nothing much, enjoying life with Britani, trying not to let Jericho get on my damn nerves, the usual." the WWE Champ replied, before turning to look at a downtrodden Chris. "What's up with Chris over here?"

"Oh, he's just a little depressed that he can't have both Mickie and Velvet, so he's taking forever to decide who he really wants. I chose Mickie." replied Shelley.

"That's an easy decision. Mickie." agreed Punk.

"Why the hell are you guys choosing for me?" Chris spoke up. "Dudes, yes, I love Mickie with all my heart, but I feel the same for Vel, too! Especially after today, since I almost lost her."

"Almost lost her? What do you mean?" he asked.

"Earlier today, she left us what looked like a suicide note in our hotel room and I had to stop her from jumping off of a cliff." he explained, to Punk's shock.

"What? Why would she feel the need to do such a thing?"

"She was feeling depressed, like nobody was there for her, I guess. Fortunately, I came at the right time to talk her out of it before she was going to ruin her life." he sighed, reliving the situation.

"Wow, poor girl. Where's she now, at the hotel?" asked Punk.

"Yep. But enough about me, what's the plan for tonight?"

"Well, No Way Out is coming up, and I thought it'd be cool for the three of us to have a match as a team. What do you two think?" he asked.

"Hey, that's not a bad idea, I wonder if there's any way that Chris and I could compete for the tag titles while we're at it." agreed Alex.

"We are due for a rematch, so I'm all for it." added Sabin, as the three headed out in the hall.

Before any more words were said, the three people they least wanted to see approached them. Chris Jericho, Dave Batista, and Dolph Ziggler, the latter two of the three proudly carrying their tag titles over their shoulders.

"Well, well, well, look who we have here. Punk and his Punkettes." Jericho smirked. "How's it going? Have any alcohol stored in that room over there that you're not sharing with the rest of us, Punk?"

He snarled. "You know, man, your words just don't bother me anymore. Week in and week out, you repeat the same crap and frankly, I just don't give a damn anymore. So just...go away." CM replied. "I'm tired of seeing your face."

"Ooh, burn, burn, burn." Alex smirked.

"You just got dissed." chuckled Chris.

"Hey, I wouldn't be laughing, considering the fact that I still have that little t-a-p-e in my possession." Dave told him, as his expression turned into seriousness.

Before Chris could reply, Alex spoke up for him. "Come on, man, the damage has already been done, and there's no possible way that you can hold that tape against Chris anymore. Unless...you're still watching it to fulfill your sexual needs. See, considering the fact that you don't even HAVE a girl, you probably watch that tape while you're jacking off somewhere in Johnny's office."

Punk and Sabin bursted out laughing, while Dave grew pissed and then grabbed Alex by the collar and pulled him closer. "You want to repeat that to my face?" he muttered.

"I can't repeat what you already know, man." he replied.

"You little-" he began, about to punch him, when Chris pulled Alex back to safety.

"Look, Douchebag, you better stop worrying about my personal life and worry about the fact that Alex and I are due for a rematch for those titles that you and the little blonde dough boy are carrying around." Sabin replied.

Dolph was insulted. "Who are you calling dough boy? You know, I WAS considering giving you two a shot at these, but after what you said, and after my embarrassing defeat on Fear Factor, I'm not giving either of you SQUAT!" he snapped.

"For a guy who wears so much pink, I just can't take you seriously, dude." Shelley replied.

He approached the Detroit native to where he stood almost nose-to-nose with him. "Oh yeah? Yeah?" Dolph asked, slapping Alex across the face. "Take THAT seriously!"

Shells was pissed, and before either Chris or Punk had a chance to stop him, he growled and tackled down the bleach blonde, throwing a slur of punches and kicks towards him. With his friends distracted, Jericho and Dave looked towards one another, before turning their attentions to Punk and Chris, tackling them down next. As Dolph and Shelley, Dave and Chris, and Punk and Jericho were all brawling in the narrow hallway, Johnny L rushed to stop them. "Hey, hey, HEY!" he shouted. "EVERYONE, break it up right this minute!"

A few referees who were in the area all rushed to separate them, with Jericho, Ziggler, and Dave on one side, and Punk and the Guns on the other.

"Ok, now I don't know what the hell started all this, but I know exactly how to finish it, since a great match just came to me." he announced. "Now as you all know, the next PPV, No Way Out is just around the corner, and here's the deal. Punk, Guns, you'll be facing these three in an elimination chamber match, winner take all. Now the rules are a little different here than in most traditional Chamber matches, because in this one, the last man standing in the ring wins everything for their team. So say if Jericho wins, he wins the WWE title from Punk, and Dolph and Dave get to keep their tag titles." he explained, before sending a quick wink of approval towards the team of heels. "But if by some miracle Punk or either one of you two little punks win, Punk keeps his title and you two win back the tag titles, which I highly doubt will happen." he smirked once the Guns and Punk sent him a glare.

"Up yours." Punk muttered.

"So, do you all agree to the terms of the match?" he asked.

Jericho, Dolph, and Dave each smiled and shook his hand. "We won't let you down, sir." Dolph smiled.

"Aw, I know you won't!" Ace smiled along. Then his expression turned grim once he faced Punk and the Guns. "You three in or what?"

CM looked at his friends while they nodded in agreement, and then turned back to the GM. "We're in, Johnny. And you know what, you're gonna be pretty damned disappointed in the end once I keep this title over my shoulder and Alex and Chris here win back the titles that they so rightfully deserve." he explained.

"Such petty dreams, Punk, but the match is on. You all have a great evening now." Johnny replied, heading off with some pep in his step.

"What a great leader." Dolph smiled.

Punk, Alex, and Chris all scoffed at this and shoved him aside, heading off.

"Ow!" Ziggler cried, being shoved against a wall. "HEY! You three need to fear me! FEAR ME!"

"Dude, seriously. Give it a rest." Dave replied as he and Jericho stormed off in the opposite direction.

* * *

Meanwhile, AJ and Mickie were strolling down another hall, on their way to see the guys...

"Mickie, please talk to me. You've been really quiet ever since we left the hotel, and whatever's going on with you, I just want to help." the tiny Diva told her friend.

The brunette sighed and took out her phone, seeing the background wallpaper picture of Chris that she had never wanted to change. "Ok. I know that Velvet's just been through a horrible ordeal, and despite everything that's happened between us, I felt so bad for her. But now it looks like she and Chris are growing even closer, and I just can't...it just doesn't go well with me. Just look what happened earlier today. She was spotting him when we were at the gym, and when we went out for ice cream, they were acting all flirty and they were giggling so much!" she exclaimed.

"Mickie, I think it's obvious to say that seeing those two together is a huge 'no' for you. But what else can you do if you two are already broken up? Chris is free to do whatever he wants." replied AJ.

She sniffled. "But April...I've realized that I want him back." she uttered.

Her eyes widened. "But you said that you just wanted to stay friends with him!"

"I may sound like a total hypocrite, but even though he cheated on me, I just can't take being without him and it's even worse seeing him with another woman. What can I even do now? Is it too late?" she asked.

"Hmm. Maybe later on, I can get a word with Chris and try and talk to him for you. Then we'll see what happens." she smiled.

"Oh, April, thank you!" the Country Diva smiled, wrapping her arms around her friend in a hug. "You're the best friend a girl could ask for!"

"Hey, I'm rooting for you and Chris, so I'll do whatever I can to get you guys back together!" she agreed.

"Aw, look, Eve! The Barbies are having a little moment!" Beth Phoenix said sarcastically, approaching them along with Eve.

"Oh go and get lost somewhere!" AJ snapped.

"Yeah, Eve, aren't you supposed to be in Johnny's office giving him his daily blowjob in order for you to even keep your job?" Mickie said with a smirk.

"Ooh, good one!" the tiny Diva agreed, knuckle punching with her.

The Latina grew red in the face and was about to wring Mickie's neck, until Beth held her back. "Eve, Eve, no! Ignore them, all right? Look, Barbies, we just came here to mention that No Way Out is just around the corner, and we've decided that we want to challenge you two for the Diva's tag titles. After all, they need to mean something again, and they'll have a true purpose once we're carrying them." the blonde replied.

"Just you you know, these titles DO have a purpose. See, we're carrying them because we like to play fair and we don't resort to cheating like the weak little prisses that you two are. Oh, and remember Eve, I gave you a black eye and you will never have Alex." AJ said quickly.

She growled again. "Sure, you threaten me all you want, but once I'm carrying that title and Alex is lying me down in bed, we'll talk again."

"You BITCH!" AJ snapped, slapping her across the face once she stumbled down.

"HEY, you keep her under control, all right?" Beth demanded, to Mickie, picking up Eve.

"I have power here, if you lay another hand on me, I will FIRE you! Got it?" She screamed.

"Yeah yeah, noise, noise." Mickie replied. "And since we're such confident champs, AJ and I will be glad to defend and retain these titles from you two. But since this is called No Way Out, I say we make the stakes higher. We do this in a steel cage."

"Oh yay, that means I get to scrape your face against the cage, how exciting!" April smiled evilly, jumping up and down.

"UGH!" was all Eve could say, storming off.

Beth shot them a look and replied, "You're on. A steel cage match for the Diva's tag titles. Be there."

"Wow, PMS much?" Mickie muttered, making AJ laugh.


	36. Chapter 36

**Chapter 36**

Once Eve kept strutting off, Beth was about to stop her, when Nattie pulled her aside first.

"Beth, I need to have a word with you." the Canadian Diva demanded.

"Sure thing, what's up?"

"Why aren't I your partner in the tag match you're going to have at the next PPV?" she cried. "Why the hell are you walking around here with Eve and acting like she's your new best friend? What about me, Beth, what about me?"

"Whoa, whoa, Nattie, calm down! I really wanted for you to be my partner, but Eve came to me first and I just couldn't turn her down." replied the blonde.

"You couldn't turn her down?" she repeated, unimpressed. "Eve hasn't been by your side, facing everything and everyone through thick and thin. I have! Eve is not, has not, and never will be a Diva of Destruction, and she is just not good enough! She's nowhere near as good as I am! I mean, she ripped off that moonsault from Lita, and we're supposed to take Eve seriously? Come on, Beth, have some common sense here. I know you're smarter than this."

The Dominant Diva chuckled. "Nattie...are you jealous?"

Her eyes widened. "Excuse me?"

"I'd hate to say it, but you sound jealous! Sweetie, look, Eve and I are just business partners with the same goal in mind - to make the Guns' lives miserable! I thought you were in on this with us, too!" exclaimed Beth.

"Well, I was at first, but Eve's totally overshadowing our whole entire group! You, me, Jack, Dolph, and Dave were the real deal not too long ago, and now Johnny's new pet is suddenly his personal assistant and telling US what to do! And frankly, I'm sick of it, I'm sick of her, and I refuse to take any orders from her. And I suggest you do the same." replied Nattie.

"Hey, did you forget how we all FAILED to do what we were supposed to do at the last Wrestlemania? We were all supposed to humiliate the Guns, and did we exactly do that? No, our grand plan blew up in our faces. But now that Eve's joined us, we're finally trying to accomplish something! We've already managed to split two of them up-well, Eve did, but still, without that great idea of hers, the rest of us would probably be going nowhere. So in all honesty, you should be thanking Eve." replied the New York native.

"Thanking her? Listen, Beth, I will never thank her for anything, and until you finally realize who your real friends are, I refuse to be a part of this group any longer." Natalya replied, crossing her arms and turning away.

"What? Nattie, you come right back here this instant!" Beth called.

She continued walking down the hall, with somewhat of a triumphant smile on her face.

"I MEAN it! If you walk away, you're OUT of the group, and you're gonna have to face serious consequences!" she yelled, but it was no use once Nattie was out of sight. "Fine. Have it that way, blondie, if you turn your back on us, you'll be on our hit list, too."

Meanwhile...

Alex was grabbing a water from the drink machine, when AJ skipped behind him and playfully spanked him from behind.

"Oh!" his eyes widened, sending an amused smirk towards his girlfriend. "Well, someone's feeling spanky tonight! You trying to tell me something, babe? That you want to get it on with your devilishly handsome boyfriend?"

"Ooh, that's an offer that I'll gladly take! But I just came up with the greatest idea!" she smiled.

"I like your ideas. Lay it on me, babe."

"Well, I was just talking with Mickie, and it is obvious that she's still in love with Chris."

"Yeah, we all knew that." he nodded.

"No, I mean seriously in love. As in, she really wants to have him back."

He raised an eyebrow. "Seriously? But I thought she wouldn't forgive him for cheating on her."

"That's what I thought, too, but with her seeing Velvet and Chris so close, I guess she realized what she was missing and felt a little heartbroken." the Diva replied.

"Well, it just so happens that Chris is still torn between her and Velvet, so with us being the awesome friends that we are, it is our obligation to bring those two back together!" Alex announced.

"That's right!"

"So...what was your idea again?" he asked.

"Um...oh yeah! We have to set those two on a romantic make-up date, and I've been doing some research, finding out that there's a seaport somewhere near here, where they hold cruises every evening." she smiled. "You get where I'm going here?"

He smiled. "Yeah! We set them up on a cruise, kinda like the Love Boat! Great idea, baby!" he smiled, giving her a quick kiss.

"Thanks!" she smiled along.

Silence.

"So...how do we do this?" he asked after a pause.

"Beats me. We're gonna need some time to think about it. C'mon." AJ replied, taking his hand once they headed off.

In the meantime, Mickie was sitting alone in the back, listening to her music and trying to get the images of Chris and Velvet together out of her head. She hoped that AJ had talked to him and hopefully changed his mind, so that he'd be looking to find her. Moments later, she saw a shadow approaching and lit up, crying, "Chris?"

"Hey, Mickie, what are you doing here by yourself?" Chris Jericho asked, approaching her.

_"Wrong Chris._" she thought bitterly, her expression turning back to disappointment. "Hey. Just wanted some time to myself. What are you doing here?"

"Just pacing around before my match starts. Mind if I join ya?" asked the Canadian.

She shrugged. "It's a free country."

He sat next to her. "Mickie, something's bothering you, and I want to know what's up. Mind telling me?"

"Actually, I kinda do. It's really none of your business, Chris." she sighed, shaking her head and not making any eye contact with him.

"What? Mickie, we've been friends for how long now? What happened to the days when we used to joke around backstage and you nearly broke my arm play wrestling?" he asked with a small smile.

She couldn't help but to smile a little. "I remember."

"Like I just said, we're friends. At least, I'm still your friend. Now, I know you've been so close with those Guns, and I guess we've grown apart along the way. I miss hanging out with you." he continued.

"It really has been a long time, hasn't it?" she agreed. "But you've changed a lot since then, Chris, you're certainly not the same guy that I used to know. Especially now, with you attacking Punk week in and week out! He's one of my closest friends and I don't appreciate you taking advantage of his lifestyle and pouring beer all over him!"

He chuckled a little. "Mickie, you do know that I'm not the same guy that you see on TV doing all those things, right? Now Punk and I may not be the best of friends, but I respect the dude. And I'm eventually taking away his title at the next PPV." he smirked.

"That cockiness is the one thing about you that's never changed, has it?" the Diva asked, amused.

"No, it most certainly hasn't! So whaddya say? If you don't have any other plans, you want to hang out with me after the show? It'll be just like old times and we can catch up again." Chris said with a smile.

"Well...I guess it wouldn't hurt to. I need a friend to take my mind off of certain things." Mickie finally looked up at him.

He patted her leg and replied, "Awesome! Hey, since I still have a few minutes before my match, I just finished up Fozzy's new demo, and you totally have to be the first to hear it."

"Oh, you guys are going back into the studio? All right, I'll give it a listen and be your first critic." the brunette smiled, heading off with him.

Right then and there, Alex led Chris to that very area, but had no idea what just happened a few seconds ago. "...Dude, I really think she's willing to give you another chance, just go over there and talk to her-" Shelley was cut off once they both saw her and Jericho walking off. "Oh...crap."

Sabin narrowed his eyes. "Was this supposed to make me feel any better?" he asked flatly, before turning back around.

"Damn." Alex sighed. "This cruise is our only hope now. There's got to be a way to get him and Mickie back together."


	37. Chapter 37

**Chapter 37**

Later that evening, Velvet was still sitting in the gang's hotel room, blankly reading through a magazine that she really wasn't reading at all. The whole entire time, she was thinking about Chris and the way he had come to her rescue during her near suicide attempt. The way that he refused to let her go, the way he held her in his strong arms afterwards and the way he assured her that everything would be all right, those thoughts alone formed a smile on the blonde's face. Not to mention the fun she had with him earlier that day.

"Chris really does love me like he says, I can't believe it's finally true." she told herself, dropping the magazine. "I have to find him."

But before she could leave, she heard the hall door closing, followed by the muffled voices of Alex and AJ. Curious, the blonde had on a smirk and decided to eavesdrop on the conversation, pressing her ear to the door.

In the other room…

"Alex, are you sure that's what you saw back there?" the tiny Diva asked.

"With our own two eyes, babe. Chris and I were headed to check up on Mickie, and lo and behold, we see her walking off to somewhere with Jericho of all people!" he revealed, to Velvet's surprise.

On her side of the room, her eyes widened and a surprised smile grew on her face.

"I don't get it, though! What would she ever want with him? And he's busy having this fixation with Punk, so what would he ever want with HER?" AJ asked.

"Hmm. Well I don't know Jericho personally, but watching old wrestling tapes from over the years, I've figured out that the dude's pretty manipulative and sneaky, not to mention a near genius. Maybe he's using that manipulation to charm her, y'know, take her under his spell, if you will." Shelley explained.

"That is so true. Kinda like when Bowser placed Princess Peach under that horrible spell in Super Mario Brothers." the brunette replied, distant.

"And that was bad." he agreed, shaking his head. Then, he broke into a smile. "Princess Peach is awesome."

Velvet made a confused face and rolled her eyes, from the other room.

"Alex, focus!" AJ cried. "Now look, maybe this thing with Jericho's a huge misunderstanding. Maybe they were just hanging out or something…I hope."

"Yeah! I mean, we're talking about one of our best friends here, we can't think the worst of her. Look, the main thing we have to do is to bring her and Chris back together, even if they don't think that it'll work." he replied.

Velvet scowled and furiously shook her head in disapproval.

"You're right, baby! So what's the plan here?" she asked.

"Tonight, we make the reservations for the cruise, tomorrow, we separately inform both Mickie and Chris about the situation, and tomorrow night, they have their own little surprise meeting, and bada bing, bada boom, they're on the road to love once again." explained Shelley.

From the other room, the Knockout looked flabbergasted. "Cruise? What cruise? Well, no, those two can't make up!" she exclaimed. "If she's really hanging out with Jericho, then I give her my consent to! With her out of the way, that leaves Sabin for me, so she's happy with Jericho, I'm happy with Sabin, everyone wins! And then finally…we'll be together again." she sighed happily, sliding down the door.

Nobody knew that she was right behind the door, so right when the door bursted open, Velvet was bumped forward and fell over, landing on her knees and hands. "OW!"

Alex and AJ looked down at her.

She looked up at them.

"…How much of that did you hear?" he asked slowly.

"…What?" she asked innocently. "What are you talking about, I never heard anything about the cruise—oops!" she covered her mouth.

The couple looked at one another before flatly replying, "You're not going."

"Aw come on, why not?" she pouted.

AJ helped her up. "Vel, let's be realistic here. It's just lethal to have both you and Mickie in any area together for a long period of time. After what happened at Alex's birthday party, I don't want a repeat of that happening again during the cruise."

"Yeah, and since it's on a ship, you two may begin some intense catfight resulting in one of us being thrown overboard and then choking off of that salty-ass water, most likely being me this time. So don't do it." Alex added.

Velvet took a seat on the edge of the bed. "But that's totally unfair, you guys! See, my leg's getting better every day, and I deserve to get out of this place every once in a while. In fact, I never get to go anywhere anymore, it's always me, Star magazine, mint chocolate chip ice cream, and the Oxygen network day in and day out!" she complained. "I want to go on this cruise, not only to see Chris, but to hang out with you guys! To sail the open seas, to have a good time!"

He sighed. "Ok, here's the deal. You can ride with us on our way to the ship, April and I board on, and then you call a cab and use that to get you back here. That way, you get out of the house for about 25 minutes, and you get a tad bit of fresh air! Sounds good?" he asked, smiling.

The Knockout had a pissed-off look on her face and threw her pillow in his face.

Alex frowned. "Rudeness. Look, you either ride with us or stay here watching reruns of your favorite show, Rock of Love Charm School. Take it or leave it."

"This—this is so unfair, I'm not even going there to start a fight with Mickie, I just want to see Chris again! He loves me and I love him, and I need to remind him of who he really wants to be with! Me!" the blonde exclaimed.

Exasperated, AJ and Alex sighed.

"Velvet, you just don't get it. We're trying to set Chris on this cruise with Mickie, because we know that they still want one another, and as their best friends, we are going to make this happen for them." April replied.

"And with you, Mickie, and Chris all in the same area, you know that shit's about to go down. All we want is a nice, peaceful, relaxing cruise for them, and you will NOT ruin it. Therefore, you are not going. Do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth?" Shelley asked slowly.

"Using movie references now, Lex? Chris Tucker would be ashamed of you." Velvet smirked.

"I—you-GAH!" Alex snapped, hastily pacing around the room. "April, you talk to her, my headache's coming back."

The tiny Diva sat next to her and smiled sweetly. "Let's put this in a way that you'll understand. We—as in Alex and I—are trying to bring Chris and Mickie back together. If you are there, they will grow apart. We—Alex and I—don't want that to happen. So that is why you will be here, in this room, staying out of their business. As long as we don't see you there, everything will be fine. Are we clear?" she articulated.

"I'm not a baby, I understand." she muttered.

"Good." she replied, patting her knee. "Ok, Alex, we better start on those reservations now."

"Yeah, where's the number?" he asked once they headed out.

Alone once again, a coy smile grew on the blonde's face while she said, "So as long as they don't SEE me, I'm technically still allowed to go on the cruise. Awesome, so I get to join in on the festivities after all! Haha, this should be lots of fun."


	38. Chapter 38

**_AN: Thanks to Thatpersonthatreads for the new review! And of course, much thanks to my faithful reviewers as usual! ^^_  
**

* * *

**Chapter 38 - The Love Boat, pt. 1**

So throughout the previous night and all throughout the next day, which was a Tuesday, Alex and AJ were busy making preparations for Mickie and Chris's surprise cruise date. Clearly, the two of them insisted that it wouldn't work out, but Shelley and Lee wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. After lots of convincing, the two gave in and decided to go through with the date, and to keep the surprise, Alex and Chris and AJ and Mickie each drove to the Marina separately. The boys boarded the ship first.

"Alex, I'm telling you, this is going to be a total waste of time!" Chris argued. "Mickie made it clear that she only wants to be friends and only friends, and I respect her decision. Even if it kills me on the inside."

"Dude, will you knock it off? Mickie's gonna love seeing you, and with us all being on a cruise along the ocean, it'll make things that more romantic, so stop being such a wuss and put a smile on your face!" Alex exclaimed.

"Well you know, I'd be much happier if we weren't surrounded by all these rich snobs in the monkey suits." he replied.

Since the cruise was formal, everyone there was required to dress up, including the Guns. Chris wore a black dressy shirt which showed off a little bit of his collarbone, along with dark jeans and black sneakers. Alex, who was really pissed about having to wear anything formal, instead wore the best thing he could find, a black graphic tee with a black leather jacket, dark jeans, and converses to finish it off. Since he looked more punk than formal, he got a few looks from some of the other guests, but he didn't give a damn.

"Yeah, I hate these obnoxious, caviar-sniffing, Porshe driving, Beverly Hills lookin' turdmunches." Alex agreed.

An older couple, who just happened to stroll by, gave him a dirty look.

"Who the hell are you staring at, you never seen someone as handsome as me before? Go on ahead and get to your Geritol before it expires!" he cried.

Chris stifled his laughter. "This was all your idea, dude."

"And it is! Ooh, the girls are here. You, work your charm on Mickie, and AJ and I will be right across from you at this table way over here." he said quickly, scurrying away.

"Wait a minute, I thought this was supposed to be a double date!" he called.

"Well, it kind of is and it kind of isn't, but make what you want to make of it." his friend shrugged.

"So you're pretty much lying to me then?" asked Chris.

"…Yeah..." he smiled, nodding. "Now knock it off and focus on Mickie, she's coming your way!"

He looked ahead to find the Country Diva approaching him, and he exhaled nervously. "Wow, that woman can make a guy weak in the knees." he uttered.

...

Meanwhile, Mickie and AJ were boarding the ship next. "You need to stop worrying so much, Mickie, everything's gonna go great!" April exclaimed. She wore a black and white sailor top with a tulle skirt bottom, along with knee high converses.

"Then why am I so nervous to be with someone I know and love so well?" Mickie asked nervously.

"It's normal to be nervous, and I'm sure that Chris feels just the same, but once you strike up a conversation with him, things will be just like old times!" she replied, smiling.

"Ok, so how do I look?" the Diva asked, turning around to face her best friend. She was wearing a dark red form fitting dress that hugged all of her curves, a black choker around her neck, her hair was in an updo, and she wore black ankle boots.

"You look hot, and I'm sure that he will fall head over heels over you." she replied with a wink. "Now he's right over there waiting for you, so good luck!" she gently shoved her ahead, before rushing to join Alex. "And hello to you, handsome."

He smiled and gave her a kiss. "Hey, gorgeous, glad you could make it!"

"Where else would I be?" she replied, lacing her hands with his. "Uh, dude, the memo said that this was a formal thing, you look like you came here straight off of a Harley." she chuckled, amused.

"Yeah, I don't really care, to be honest. I'd rather have my own style than to dress up like these tired old hags."

AJ laughed. "I love the way you think. And you know, even though we're here to make sure that our friends leave here hopefully happy and holding hands, it's nice that you and I are here on a date, too."

"It is nice, isn't it?" he agreed. "Now while we enjoy each other's company, let's sit back, relax, and let nature take its course."

"Isn't that for like, childbirth or something?" AJ asked, giggling.

"Oh. Same difference. Yo, waiter, bring us a couple of sparkling ones, will ya?" he called.

Meanwhile…

Chris was still smiling while Mickie approached him. "Hey, Mickie! Wow, you look so…so beautiful." he sighed, blushing a bit.

She blushed in return and replied, "Aw, Chris, thank you! You look incredibly handsome as well, y'know."

"Well, I know that I look good, but I still have to admit that I cannot match your untamed beauty." he replied with a cocky look.

Mickie laughed. "Must you be so arrogant?"

Before she took her seat, he stopped her. "Oh no, allow me." he replied, pulling out her chair for her. "Ladies first. And yes, I just wouldn't be the same person if I weren't arrogant, so ha."

"Well, thank you. You're such an arrogant gentleman, but I wouldn't take you any other way." she smiled.

After that, they looked across at one another, with a little bit of an awkward silence in between them.

"Sooo…" he began.

"Sooo…" she began.

"You know that Alex lied to us? He said that this was supposed to be a double date, and where are he and AJ, WAY over there!" he snapped, turning to look at them.

Shelley scoffed and replied, "What the hell are you talking about, we're right across from you! Dillhole."

Chris quickly flashed him the finger before turning back to Mickie with a charming smile.

She laughed. "That's not very nice!"

"So? He's always being mean to me, I have a God given right to defend myself! So anyhoo, what's up with you lately? You've been strangely quiet yesterday afternoon and ever since."

"I dunno, I guess I was just tired from being on Fear Factor, and our long flight back, so yeah. So um, I've noticed that you and Velvet were having a great time yesterday afternoon." replied the Diva.

"Well, after her near suicide attempt, I was still worried about her, so I just wanted to make her feel better and y'know, remind her that she still has her friends to depend on. That's all." he explained. "So now can I ask you something?"

"Sure!"

"Uh, last night, Alex and I were wondering where you were and wanted to check up on you, but when we turned around the corner, we…found you heading off somewhere with Jericho. Now, I know that this is none of my business, but I was just wondering …what you guys did." he said slowly, nervous to hear her reaction.

She raised an eyebrow. "Why are you so concerned?" she asked.

"Mickie, it's just, we all know that Jericho's a skeevy kind of guy, I mean, look what he's done to Punk lately! I just don't want him hurting you and he's just no good for you!" he explained.

"Seriously, Chris? Look, he just came over to check up on me, too, we talked for a few minutes, and then we left to listen to some of his band's demos. That's it." she explained.

"Are you sure that's ALL he wanted to do?" he asked.

Surprised to hear these accusations from him, the Diva retorted, "Ok, just for the record, he and I have known each other for years and we were good friends for a while. Now, he's just trying to reconnect with me again and I'm open to that. What's so wrong with me hanging out with an old friend, Chris? I'm a grown woman, I'm free to do whatever I want to!"

"Well, I am sorry for being worried about you, but I just can't help it!" he exclaimed. "I'm still your friend, too, and I still feel the need to have to look out for the woman that I love."

Her expression softened upon hearing that. "Well, if you're jealous, there's no need to be. There's nothing happening in between Jericho and I. Now if anyone needs to be jealous, it's me. The reason why I was so quiet lately was because I constantly had to sit there and watch you and Velvet laughing it up and having a great time. Just like we used to. I miss that so much, Sabin."

He felt a little guilty and took her hand. "I miss that too, Mickie, but you were the one who made it clear that we just can't be together. And now you're feeling jealous? You're totally confusing me here, which do you want?"

"I—I don't know!" she cried, holding her head in her hands.

"Well, this is obviously hurting the both of us, so maybe the best option would be for us to…move on?" he asked regretfully. "What do you think?"

She tightened her grip on his hand and tried to reply, but before she could, Chris looked ahead for a sec to find the shocker of the night. "Oh, my God."

Velvet Sky stood at the back of the ship, smiling and waving towards him.

"What? What's going on?" asked Mickie.

Alex and AJ had heard the outburst and saw Chris gesture towards the back, where they saw Velvet, too. They quickly rushed to her, while he was about to join them. "Uh, I-I'm just feeling a little seasick, that's all. I need a few minutes." he lied.

"Oh, are you going to be all right?" Mickie asked.

"Oh yeah, yeah, this is a one man job, be right back!" he said quickly, heading off.

"Ok, be careful!" she called back, totally confused.

...

Moments later, the three rushed to the blonde Knockout.

"Velvet, what are you doing here?" asked Sabin.

"What the HELL are you doing here?" a pissed off Alex demanded.

"Look, before you yell at me, I just came to see Chris. I've been begging to go on this trip, but Alex and AJ wouldn't let me!" she exclaimed.

"Well, they had a good reason to keep you back home, Vel, Mickie's right over there and you know what'll happen if she sees you here?" asked Chris. "She's going to flip out."

"And that's exactly why I'm taking you right back to the cab that brought you here." Alex began, but before he could pull her away, she got out of his reach and turned back to her crush.

"Why does everyone think that I'M the troublemaker?" she demanded. "I didn't come here to start anything, I just wanted to see the man that I love. Chris, give me a hug!"

"...What?" he asked, confused.

"Come on, I came all this way to see you, now hug me, please?" she pouted.

"Go away!" Alex cried, trying to usher her away.

"Fine, fine. Come here." Chris gave in by wrapping his arms around the blonde, while she just about melted in his embrace and hugged him back. "Uh, Vel?...Vel?...Ok, you can let go of me now…Vel!"

"It feels so right." she smiled.

"Ok, time for you to go." Shelley replied, prying her away, but before he could take her anywhere, the ship's horn sounded, and before anyone knew it, they all saw the folks outside on the boardwalk waving goodbye to them. After that, they were slowly sailing away from the pier.

"…What's going on?" Velvet asked slowly.

"What do you think? The ship's sailing away and you're still here!" cried AJ.

"Oh, no! If I get caught, they might make me scrub the ship, or walk the plank or…they might make me eat soap!" she cried, thinking the worst.

"Well, we wouldn't have to worry about this kind of thing if you'd just STAYED AT HOOOOME!" Alex yelled.

"All right, there's not much that we can do now. Velvet, you just have to stay out of sight and make sure that nobody that works around here catches you. And whatever you do, make sure that Mickie doesn't see you, all right?" Chris pleaded.

"Can't promise anything, but I'll do what I can." the blonde shrugged.

"Ok, now I…hey, shrimp." he smiled, taking one from the waitress nearby. Alex said nothing and joined him, only he decided to take about 10-15 of them, startling the poor employee.

"I love skrimp!" he exclaimed, smiling.

"Dude, it's _shrimp_." replied Chris.

"Shut up, who cares?"

"Guys, we have bigger issues here and you're sitting here pigging out on shrimp?" demanded AJ.

Before anything else was said, the ship's captain approached them next. "Excuse me, do you all have tickets to board the ship?"

Chris, AJ, and Alex rushed to shield Velvet, while she tried to hide herself. They all took out their white slips.

"We have them right here, Captain. What's wrong, is there a problem?" asked Alex.

"Yes, there is. We've got news of a castaway hanging out somewhere on this ship. But it's no matter. We'll search em down even if it takes all night." he replied, all too serious. Velvet gulped. "You all have a good evening."

Once he walked off, the three sighed in relief and then turned to Velvet.

"See why you're a problem now?" Shelley demanded.

"Oh shut up, Alex! Look, nothing should go wrong if I just lay low and stay cool. But still, Chris, why hang out with Mickie if she may be interested in Jericho now? I'm here, and the two of us could have a great time together." the blonde said sweetly, but once she tried to grab his arm, her arm accidentally bumped into another waiter's tray, sending it flying in one direction and its contents flying in another.

Hearing the loud crash, Mickie and the other spectators whipped around when Velvet was quickly shielded again.

"Goddamn it, why don't you watch where you're going, prude?" Chris made the cover by yelling at the innocent waiter. Then, he quickly joined Mickie with a smile. "Hi, I'm back."

She giggled. "Hi! So is everything ok with you now?"

"Yeah, I uh, had to get Alex off of my back first, but I'm as good as new." he replied.

"Well, you don't have to worry, if you start to feel sick again, I'll take care of you." the Diva said with a genuine smile.

Sabin kissed her hand. "You're so sweet as much as you are beautiful."

Velvet saw this from where she was standing, snuck past Alex and AJ, and then came up with a great plan. She approached a female employee. "What size are you, like an 8, small?" she asked.

"Yeah."

She nodded with a mischievous grin. "Walk with me. Talk with me." the blonde replied, casually leading the employee into a back room. As soon as she closed the door, she pretty much mugged the poor woman, slamming her against the door to where she could be seen sliding down the glass window with her cheek pressed against the surface.

"Mickie, you're the sweetest girl in the world, and because of that, I have a gift for you." Chris continued, still smiling. "And I want to give it to you in a special place."

She gasped, sneakily looking around before whispering, "Chris, you _know_ that I'm not doing that again! The last time we ever did anything like that was for your half birthday, and under the circumstances, I'm certainly not doing it now!"

He laughed. "NO, not that! ...Unless you really want to…"

"Chris!" she snapped.

"I'm kidding!" he cried, defensively putting his hands in the air. "No, no, since Alex insisted that we have this date, I went out and got you a little something special." he replied, handing her a small box.

"Aw, Chris!" she beamed.

In the meantime, Velvet had emerged from the back room, wearing the female employee's uniform, which was about 4 sizes too small for her. Her pants ended above her ankles, and the top was so tight that her boobs were threatening to pop out of it. To disguise herself, her hair was up in a bun, with a captain's hat on her head to top it off.

AJ and Alex were supposed to be guarding the blonde to prevent her from doing anything else silly, but instead, the two were more interested in each other, making out the entire time.

She broke away first and said, "Uh, Shells…aren't we supposed to be watching Velvet?"

He halfheartedly glanced back and replied, "Oh yeah, she's still back there, I guess. Hasn't made a peep all night...Kiss me again?"

"Mm hmm!" she agreed, wrapping her arms around his neck and sitting on his lap.


	39. Chapter 39

**Chapter 39 - The Love Boat, pt. 2**

"You, the waitress with the bad pants and the ridiculously tight shirt?" the manager of the ship told Velvet.

"Yes, sir?" she saluted.

"Go and help that couple at the bar." he demanded. "And if you ever wear Capri pants to work again, you'll be polishing the heads, mmkay?"

"Hey, you know, you don't scare me. I've done some things in my life, I've polished _heads_ before, if you know what I mean." she lied, trying to get this guy off of her back.

He made a face. "…Go."

"Going!" she rushed off.

Chris saw Velvet in her new uniform and gasped, quickly leaping up and saying, "Mickie, over here!" As soon as Velvet walked by, he grabbed Mickie by the arm and switched seats with her, so that she wouldn't catch a glimpse of the scheming blonde.

"WHY?" she asked, panicked.

"Nothing, it's just…when you sit over here, the moonlight gives you this amazing glow." he smiled.

"Aww!" she grinned, resting her head on her hand. "You're so romantic…"

At the bar, Velvet approached this older couple.

"Sorry for the delay, I had to take care of some bid-ness first, if you know what I mean." she said with a wink.

The couple exchanged confused looks.

"What can I get you?" she asked quickly.

"Chris, if I'm not mistaken, that sounds an awful lot like Velvet." Mickie announced, about to turn around.

He stopped her just in time. "What? Nah, Micks, you're probably just hearing things. You know who that is? That's Julie from the Love Boat!" he lied.

Mickie whipped around to find the blonde smiling and flashing two thumbs up. Then, she turned back to face Chris with a confused look on her face.

"See, she couldn't bring herself to leave the ship, even since the show was cancelled 26 years ago!" he continued. "Here's your present."

At the bar…

"Where's my drink?" the woman there demanded.

Velvet was too busy looking insanely jealous towards Mickie and Chris, and then turned her attention to the couple in front of her. "Oh. Here you go." she said flatly, tossing the champagne bottle in her lap.

She gave her another look. "Well, aren't you going to open it?"

She shrugged and decided to open the bottle with her teeth, but then the cap flew off, and water began splashing all over her husband's lap. "Oh! Oh! Oh!" they both cried.

"Oh, oh, my God, I'm sorry." Velvet replied, not really feeling that sorry. "Here, let me clean this right up!" she began dabbing his chest with a cloth, and then accidentally moved down to his crotch area. "Hey, is that thing real?"

"What is the meaning of this? Come along, Lorenzo!" the woman cried, dragging her husband away to get cleaned up.

He sent Velvet back a wink, though, and said, "I'm in room 415…"

"LORENZO!" the woman screamed, pulling him away.

The Knockout raised an eyebrow and shrugged, turning her attention back to Sabin and James, and bitterly downed a shot of champagne from right out of the bottle.

"Ok, I know that something's going on over there, and I'd like to know what it is." Mickie announced, but Chris stopped her again.

"No, nothing's going on over there, don't look back there! Everything's fine, right, AJ, Alex?" he called across to them.

They were still busy locking lips.

"Yeah sure, whatever." Alex muttered, dismissively waving his hand.

"But why, can't I look back there, is there something that you don't want me to see?" Mickie demanded.

"No, no, it's because…because…" Chris got up and slowly walked backwards to where he backed into a microphone pole on the ship's stage and thought up another excuse. "Cause I want to sing you a song!"

Now she was just plain stunned. "...You can't sing, Chris."

"But trust me, you'll love it." he smiled, before turning back to the band. "1, 2, 3, 4!"

The drum beat began, provoking Chris to dance along. Mickie had a surprised and an amused look on her face, Velvet just stared, her champagne pouring right out, and AJ and Alex stopped making out to watch their friend.

"Oh my God, what's he doing up there?" asked April.

"Chris, get down from there before you embarrass yourself!" Alex called.

He ignored him and began singing,

"_Girl, I can't understand it, why you want to hurt me_

_After all the things I've done for you._

_I buy you champagne and roses and diamonds on your finger – _

_Diamonds on your finger – _

_Still hang out all night_

_what am I to do?_

Velvet was still frozen in shock, her champagne in mid pour, while an elderly lady began hopping up and down in her seat to the beat.

_Cause my girl wants to party all the time_

_Party all the time_

_party all the time!_

_My girl wants to party all the time_

_PARTY ALL THE TIIIIIIIMMMEEE!" _he finished quite loudly and horribly.

Mickie laughed and applauded, as did AJ, but Alex cracked up laughing so hard that he had to bury his face in his arms. Chris smiled and approached Mickie once again.

"Dude," Shelley began, trying to get all the laughter out of his system. "That was the worst thing I've ever heard in my life."

He shot him a look.

"Now you see why I'm the lead singer of our band, right?"

"Oh shut up, Alex!" he snapped, turning back to Mickie. "So, were you swooned away by my romantic serenade?" he asked her.

"Um…I'm glad that it's over!" she laughed.

"Ah haha, you kidder." he pointed a sly finger at her, leading her back to her seat.

"But that was a great try, hun, and I was entertained, so make that count for something." she replied.

Velvet quickly scurried by and sent him a quick wave while he had to turn Mickie slightly over so that she wouldn't see the blonde. She bumped into the manager of the ship once again. "What do you want from me?"

"Ah, you're testing me, aren't you?" he asked back. "That table needs help. Move it."

She scoffed and mocked him. "'Move it.' I can't believe I have to go through all this just because—"

AJ and Alex looked up to see her.

"Velvet?" April demanded. "What are you doing wearing that?"

"Shh. It was the only disguise I could find and the only way I could get away without getting caught around here." she whispered.

Alex eyed her down. "You could've at least mugged someone that was actually the same size as you."

"Alex, I told you to shut up." she replied.

"Damn it, I will not be silenced, so you shut up!" he cried back.

"No, YOU shut up!" she argued.

"Ahem!" the manager called from a distance.

"Oh, um, so what seems to be the problem?" she asked through clenched teeth.

"We're still hungry." announced AJ.

"Yeah, go and find us some more skrimps, why don't you?" Alex demanded.

"…It's called shrimp, and you have one left right there." she pointed out.

"There's something wrong with it!" he cried.

"Oh my God, stop complaining, what is the damn problem?" Velvet asked, picking up the tiny thing and then eating it, dropping the tail back on their table. "Seems all right to me." she concluded, heading off.

The two exchanged confused looks. "Did she really just gulp down the last skrimp?" he demanded. "I was gonna give her a 50 cent tip, but she can forget about it now!"

Later…

Mickie's cell lit up once again, and she was surprised to find a text from Jericho. "Oh? What does he want?"

"Who?" asked Chris.

"Oh, it's Jericho. I'll have to answer him later, hopefully it's nothing too important." she replied, putting her phone away.

"Oh, he has your number now? I didn't think you two were getting so close so fast." he replied.

"Well, we kinda always had each other's numbers, I just never really called his that much. But I don't want to think about him now, because I'm having a wonderful time here with you." she smiled.

He smiled back. "Well, it just so happens that I'm having a wonderful time here with you, too." he agreed.

Velvet saw this and then grumbled a little.

"I'm still thirsty, I think we need some more champagne." Mickie announced.

"Sure thing. Excuse me, sir, could we get another round of champagne, please?" Chris asked the manager, who just happened to be strolling by.

"Most certainly, sir." then, he stopped Velvet. "Bring the champagne to that table over there."

She looked to find him pointing to the one table that she was supposed to avoid. "Uh oh."

"Is there a problem?"

"Uh, no, not at all."

"Then MOVE." he hissed.

"Moving." she sighed, grabbing the bottle and hesitantly approaching the couple's table. Chris saw that Velvet was heading their way, and his eyes widened a bit. "Oh, no."

The blonde had to hide herself, by keeping her back turned to them, and poured the liquor into Mickie's glass with one arm behind her back.

"Uh, Chris, what's wrong with her?" she asked.

"Uh, uh…she's from Lithuania!" he lied again.

"A Lithuanian waitress?" she questioned, not believing this one.

"Yeah! Yeah, y'see, the beautiful women over there aren't really allowed to show their faces because they get hit in the head with rocks from the more unfortunate looking women." he explained. "So y'know, they have real strict laws, so they can't look at you."

"Will you be needing the anything else, ma'am?" Velvet mumbled in a thick, yet fake accent.

The Country Diva frowned and wasn't buying it for a second. She knew exactly what was going on. "Yeah, why don't you drop the ACT, Velvet!" she snapped, getting up and whipping off her captain's hat and untying her bun.

She nervously looked towards Chris while he nervously looked back at her.

"Busted…" the blonde sighed.

AJ looked across to find the scene, while Alex began to get up and leave. "Ok, cat's outta the bag, let's amscray."

"No, Alex, stay here!"

Mickie turned to her ex. "Somebody want to explain to me what the hell's going on?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"Mickie, look, Velvet wasn't even supposed to be on this cruise, but she managed to get on anyway." replied Chris. "I was just trying to keep her away from you to prevent you two from fighting again, that's all."

"Wow, well, I don't really know what to say about that. Hey, AJ, Alex, were you two in on this the whole time?" she asked them.

"We tried to get rid of Velvet, but she was too fixated on getting Chris to herself that she wouldn't bother leaving." explained Shelley, while Mickie shot Velvet a look.

"Alex, stop making things worse!" cried April. "Sorry we didn't tell you earlier, Mickie."

"Yeah, don't be mad at either of them, Mickie, they were the ones who got us the tickets and set us up on this cruise in the first place. It's not their fault." Chris stood up for them.

She sighed. "I'm not mad at them, and I should be mad at you, but I'm not. But as for you, Velvet…"

"Now wait, wait, before you say anything, let me speak first." the blonde announced. "I heard that you were getting all buddy-buddy with Jericho the other night, and I just figured that with you distracted with him, I'd have a chance with Chris. I don't want you breaking his heart, Mickie. But if you keep on playing this little game, that's exactly what will happen, and then I will be the one to pick up the pieces and be here for Chris."

"Wait, how the hell did you know about me and Jericho hanging out?"

"I overheard." she said quickly. "The point is, you can't juggle two guys at one time, you have to choose only one."

"This is none of your damn business, Velvet! Just because you currently don't have a life, doesn't mean you have to barge into mine!" the brunette argued.

"WHAT?" the blonde snapped. "Now wait just a damn minute here!"

Before another fight could break out, Chris held back Mickie while Alex held back Velvet.

"Guys, guys, cut it out!" exclaimed AJ.

Right then and there, the manager joined them and pulled Velvet away. "HEY! Stop fondling the guests!" he snapped.

"Fondling?" she demanded.

"Yeah, she fondled my skrimp earlier tonight!" snapped Alex.

"Dude, will you stop worrying about the damn shrimp?" demanded Chris.

Right then and there, the waitress that Velvet had mugged earlier finally kicked down the back room door, in her undergarments. She had an apple gagged into her mouth and spit it out before crying, "THAT WOMAN STOLE MY CLOTHES!"

Velvet whipped around. "Wha oh."

"That's not a waitress, that's the stowaway! CAPTAIN!" the manager yelled.

Velvet, Mickie, and AJ all screamed, and when the manager went to stop the blonde, Chris quickly distracted him by throwing a balloon in his face and then running off into another room with Alex and the girls. The captain and the manager both sped after them, and in the other room, a loud series of crashes were heard.

The other guests looked on in both shock and amusement. After that, the five of them ran back out, and as a surprise maneuver, they ended back up onto the stage. Chris called, "1, 2, 3, 4!"

Alex shoved the drummer out of his chair and began drumming, AJ pretended to play the piano, while Mickie and Velvet hid somewhere in the back, arguing, and Chris was center stage once again singing,

"_PARTY ALL THE TIME!_

_Come on, get down, get down!"_

Another couple smiled and bobbed their heads to the beat.

"They must've snuck up the upper deck." the captain announced. "Spread out, men!"

He, followed by the manager, the mugged waitress, and two other waiters ran past the stage and sped upstairs.

"_PARTY ALL THE TIIIIIIIMMEEE!" _they all finished. The same elderly woman that was hopping in her seat from before smiled and sent them a wink.

"Thank you!" Alex got up and bowed.

The crowd applauded.

"Now what do we do?" asked Mickie.

"Uh, you guys know any Bon Jovi?" Alex asked the band.

"Shut up, Alex!" Chris hissed, slapping his arm.

Then, the manager and the rest of the ship's staff stopped them. "There they are!" he cried. Once they all slowly backed them up, the five of them looked defeated.

"Damn. They've got us cornered." announced Sabin.

"Oh, what are we gonna do?" AJ asked, worried.

"Come on, Captain Cosby. How about we make you a nice deal. We give you Velvet, in exchange for the rest of our freedom. You can give her some pudding pops!" Alex chuckled nervously, while the blonde sent him a look.

The staff wasn't moved. They continued to back them up to the edge of the boat.

"Hey, hey, let's just jump down to the lower deck and hope that it won't kill us!" announced Chris.

"What the hell are you all waiting for—" Shelley cried, speeding back and at the same time, accidentally shoved the four of them over and completely off of the ship, into the water with a loud splash. He quickly looked down and looked back up at the angry staff. "Can't I at least have a few more of those skrimps for the road?" he asked nervously.

"GET HIM!" snapped the manager.

The Detroit native whispered a silent prayer before quickly diving off of the ship next, joining his friends into the cold water.


	40. Chapter 40

**Chapter 40**

After the cruise from hell, the gang returned back to their hotel to get themselves both dried up and warmed. Velvet slowly arrived with a towel around her head and shivering, locking eyes with a shivering AJ and a disgruntled Alex.

"All that hard work, ruined." the tiny Diva sighed. "See why we didn't want you on this cruise, Vel?"

"I just wanted to see the man that I love! Is that such a crime?" she cried.

"If it isn't, it should be." mumbled Shelley. "You are trouble, missy, and you will NOT come in between our friends, do you hear me?"

"Oh, mind your own business and go choke on one of those _skrimps_ you love so much." she said bitterly.

He almost leapt up. "Ok, you know what, why don't you go and choke off of my foot when I stick it up your—"

"ALEX!" AJ stopped him, gently sitting him down. "Vel, I think you've done enough as it is for tonight, so I say we all just get warmed up and get ready for bed. I'm exhausted."

"Here here." Alex agreed.

"Okay." the blonde sighed, disappointed. Once she headed into the bedroom, she was surprised to hear two voices from outside, and looked to her right to find Chris and Mickie chatting out on the balcony. "Hmm." she sighed, turning to them.

* * *

Outside, the two were looking out at the night sky, with towels over their shoulders.

"So, wild night, huh?" Mickie asked with a small smile.

"Wild would be an understatement." he chuckled back. "Listen, Mickie, I'm really sorry that things turned out the way they did. Even if neither of us expected this date to happen, I still wanted it to go perfect for you."

She smiled and took his hand. "You tried, Chris, and that's what makes me happy. And besides Velvet lurking around, I still had a great time! Plus, I will never let you live it down after singing that badly onstage in front of all those people."

"Oh, come on, Mickie, I was not THAT bad!" he laughed.

"Yes, you were. I think I heard cats dying from miles away."

"You're so mean! Hey, at least give me some credit for even trying, that's a real ballsy move!"

The Diva laughed along. "That's true, I sure wouldn't have done it. But anyway, I just wanted to thank you for this crazy little night. You're so sweet."

He smiled back and replied, "You don't have to thank me. As long as I see a smile on your face, then I know I did something right."

Blushing once again, she gazed at him and announced, "I love you."

He gazed back at her. "I love you too. So…is this the green light for us to get back together?"

"Oh, sweetie, as much as I want to say yes, we just can't." she replied. "You and I both know that Velvet's the problem here, and since you can't deny your feelings for her, too, I just can't be second choice. So until she's out of the picture and you've really made your decision, all we can be is friends. I think it's best if the two of us moved on."

He slowly nodded. "Even if it hurts?"

"Oh trust me, it hurts me ten times worse than it hurts you. But yeah, I think it's the best choice." the Diva sniffled.

"All right, well before you go, I still want you to keep the present that I gave you. Think of it as a gesture of friendship."

"Oh yeah, I never got a chance to open it. Let's see." she smiled, opening her box to find a cute silver charm bracelet, with all of her favorite things – a heart, a purse, a music note, and a tiny horse – as the small little charms. She smiled, feeling the tears threatening to spill over her eyes. "Oh, Chris…this is so beautiful."

"Glad you like it." he smiled.

"Like it, I love it!" she exclaimed, slipping it onto her wrist. "Thank you so much, this is the prettiest thing that anyone's ever given me."

"You're very welcome." he replied, kissing her on the cheek. "Listen, um, even though you'll probably never forgive me after sleeping with Velvet, I just hope that one day, you'll, y'know, keep your options open. I'll still be here if you're willing to give me another chance."

She nodded. "I promise that I will. And should you choose to run off with Velvet, I won't stop you. But if she ever hurts you, you tell me and I'll deal with her."

The Detroit native chuckled. "We'll see what happens. So, uh, what are we gonna do with the cash we won from Fear Factor and the trip to Vegas that we were supposed to take?"

"Good question. I think it's best if we'd save it for the future. So if we ever do get back together, we can use our winnings to have ourselves one hell of a time. Deal?"

"Totally!" he nodded.

"Awesome. Good night, Chris."

"Night, Mickie." he sent her a smile. After she went back inside, Velvet was the next to join him.

"Um, I'm probably the last person you want to see right now, but I was wondering if we could talk?" she asked, twiddling her fingers.

He patted the seat next to his. "Have a seat."

"Thanks. So I was kinda like a fly on the wall a few minutes ago and kinda overheard everything. Sab, I know that I probably sound like a broken record right now, but I know that you still have feelings for me! I love you so much, Chris, see what I had to go through tonight just to try and talk to you?" she asked.

"That's true, most girls wouldn't fake being a waitress and end up getting us all thrown off of a ship if they weren't crazy about someone." he chuckled.

She laughed. "Exactly! So, I'm just asking you to please give me another chance. If Mickie's moving on, then why can't you? You deserve to be happy, and I want to be the one to keep you happy."

"Jamie, I still don't know yet, I mean, this is all happening so soon. Just give me some time to sleep on it, and I promise, I'll eventually make my decision. Fair enough?" he asked, holding out his hand.

The blonde smiled and shook his hand. "Fair enough. So, you coming to bed anytime soon?"

"Yeah, I'll join you guys in a minute." he responded, before turning back to look at the night sky. "Damn, this is going to be the toughest decision of my life."

* * *

Fast forwarding to Monday, the gang headed to a new state and a new town for the next installment of Raw. The No Way Out PPV was up and coming in a matter of about two weeks, and tensions between the opponents were showing…

In the Diva's locker room, AJ and Kaitlyn were chatting.

"So are the rumors true about you and Mickie facing Eve and Beth in a steel cage at No Way Out?" asked the blonde.

"True as true can be." she replied, looking in the mirror and applying her eyeshadow. "We totally can't wait!"

"Yeah, that's going to be epic! The last time we've ever seen two women face off in a steel cage was like, 5 years ago and us women barely ever get matches that brutal anymore. In fact, ever since you and Mickie started teaming up, your matches have been the Saving Grace of the Diva's division!"

"Wow, you really think so, Kate?" she asked, surprised.

"Of course! Your matches last longer than 1 minute, like - WAY longer, they're extreme, I mean, just look at your last match at Extreme Rules! I don't think anyone's seen a Diva's match that wild in a long time." she explained.

"Aw, thanks, Kaitlyn, I never thought of it that way. I guess it's a good thing that Mickie and I are stealing the show, because the fact of the matter is most of the other 'Divas' here are models hired by our very on Johnny Ace, so I blame him for killing the girls' credibility. I, for one, am not a model by any means, and I don't even consider myself a Diva. I look at myself as a women's wrestler, and it's the same with Mickie. So with us stealing the show is kind of like a slap in the face to Johnny, saying 'screw you and your rules, there are women that can stay in a match for a long period of time and don't have to be talentless models—"

"*cough* Kelly *cough*" Kaitlyn added.

She laughed. "Yeah! So it's nice that we can hold our own in a match and be counted just as seriously as the guys are." she finished.

"Well said, chica, well said. So speaking of which, where is Mickie, anyway? Don't you guys have a match tonight?"

"Yeah, we do, and I have no idea where she is to be honest. I just hope she's all right. Hey, want to grab a couple of churros before the last ones get taken?" asked AJ.

"Oh yay, I love churro Monday! Let's go." the blonde smiled. Once they turned and strolled down the hallway, she asked, "So is it true that Mickie and Chris broke up for good?"

The brunette sighed. "Well, they said that they've 'moved on', so that probably translates to them splitting up. Kate, I'm so bummed. Those two belong together and they know it, but with Velvet being in the way, I don't know if things will ever be the same for them. Alex and I've been doing everything we could to get them back together, but nothing's worked."

"Well if they believe that they belong together like you say they do, then I think that fate will do something to them to make them realize what they've been missing out on. The only thing you can do is to give them time." replied the Chickbuster.

"Maybe you're right." she shrugged. Once they reached the snack line, everyone's favorite Spanish announcer, Ricardo Rodriguez cut in front of the girls and snatched up the last two churros.

"Hey, rude much?" demanded Kaitlyn.

"You totally cut us!" cried AJ.

"Too bad, muchachas, this line is reserved for the almighty, ALBERTOOOOOOOOOOOOOO..." he began.

"Screw this, let's just leave." replied the blonde.

"DELLLLLLLLL…RIIIIIOOOOOO—"

"¡Oye! ¡Qué demonios son usted hacer, usted pone en ridículo de usted!" Del Rio called, joining the fray.

Kaitlyn raised an eyebrow. "Come again?"

"He's asking him what he's doing making a fool out of himself." AJ clarified.

"Oh! You know your Espanol, eh, mamacita?" asked Alberto.

"I'm Puerto Rican, so yeah I know some." she shrugged. "And um, please don't call me mamacita, I barely know you."

"Well, that should change, now shouldn't it?" he asked. "Now, I am terribly, terribly sorry that my announcer here had cut you two in line. And as a token of my sincerest apologies, I would like for you to have this." he replied, placing something into both girls' hands. "You both have a great evening, come along, Ricardo, _vamanos_!"

After he left, the girls' opened their palms to find a pretty nice stack of cash! They gasped.

"He gave us cash? Oh my God, is this real?" Kaitlyn asked, stunned.

AJ flipped through the money. "This is totally legit! Wow, this has got to be at least $5 grand."

"I don't understand, they were just churros, why in the world would he give us this kinda dough in exchange?" she asked.

"Katie, who cares? He just gave us free money, you know how much we could do with all this cash?" the tiny Diva asked, excited.

They both looked at one another, before exclaiming at once, "GAMESTOP! EEE!"

"Hey, ladies, what are we celebrating?" Alex asked, joining them with a smile.

"Alex, Katie and I just scored $5,000 bucks each!" she cried, showing him the cash. "Look at it!"

He flipped through the cash and his eyes widened. "Damn! How the hell did you two get this?"

"It was so weird, AJ and I were just on our way to grab a couple of churros, that Ricardo dude cut us in line, and then Alberto Del Rio came and apologized and gave us $5,000!" the blonde exclaimed happily.

"Del Rio?" he questioned. "Since when did he become charitable? I thought he was supposed to be an arrogant prick."

"I dunno, but I'm feeling pretty thankful right about now." AJ smiled.

"Nice! I better have that Ricardo dude cut me in line so I can score some cash from Del Rio. You think he'll be generous enough to hand me a nice, I dunno, $500 grand?" asked the Detroit native.

The girls laughed.

"What? Why are you laughing?"

"Nobody's that generous, Lex." Kaitlyn replied.

"Well, Alex still wants some cash, too. Care to split the profits with him?" he asked, cutely batting his eyes.

"No way, dude." the blonde replied.

He shot her a look. "Some friend you are! How about you, April? Care to donate a small sum to the First National Bank of Alex?" he pleaded.

"Shells!" she giggled.

"I love you." he added.

"Oh all right, we'll split it between us, $2500 each. Happy now?" the Diva smiled.

"Yay!" he exclaimed, wrapping her in a tight hug. "I think you ladies need to cross paths with Del Rio more often, we can get rich pretty quick this way."

* * *

Meanwhile, Del Rio and Ricardo were strolling down the corridors while he told his announcer, "Ah, women will do anything for money to fill their little purses, eh, Ricardo?"

He nodded with that smug little look on his face.

"All we have to do is keep this little charade going for as long as we can, and sooner or later, those mamacitas will be at my beck and call. Especially that pretty little AJ, her so-called boyfriend is no good for her." he continued with a scowl.

Next, Johnny Ace bumped into him. "Alberto! Just the man I wanted to see." he smiled, shaking his hand. "Did you get the job done?"

"Yes, I have given them the money, and they suspect nothing. Now do I get my end of the deal?"

"I'll trust your word, so I say yes. Welcome to the team, Alberto. Ricardo." he replied with a nod, shaking their hands. "Now why don't you two come into my office so we can go over some future ideas…"


	41. Chapter 41

**_AN: Thanks as always for the reviews, everyone! You guys rule!_**

* * *

**Chapter 41**

Meanwhile, Mickie and Punk's girlfriend, Britani Knight were chatting it up in another hallway…

"Wow, so you and Chris really did call it quits. I can't believe it, you two were totally perfect for each other." the British Diva told her friend.

She shrugged. "Things happen when certain blondes get in the way, but it's not like he and I cut off all contact with one another. We're still really tight friends, so I haven't lost him forever." the Country Diva replied. "Still, there's no denying that I miss him like crazy."

"I'm sure that there has to be a way for you two to forget everything that's happened in the past and forgive one another. I hate seeing you so depressed." replied Britani.

"I'll be ok, B. You don't have to worry about me. In fact, I've been hanging out lately with another friend of mine and he's cheered me up quite a bit, to be honest."

"Which friend of yours?" she questioned. "And most importantly, which HE are you talking about?"

She paused. "Uh, that's not really important right now. So B, any chance you're getting that Diva's title away from Beth anytime soon?" she changed the subject.

"Man, I hope. That blonde little bloke has been hogging that title since after Wrestlemania, so whenever the time comes, I'm looking forward to kicking her arse." the younger Diva replied.

"There you go! Punk would be so proud of you!" she smiled.

"Uh, I really don't think he'd be so proud of his pathetic little excuse of a girlfriend failing to win a title that I will eventually win." Eve announced, approaching her.

"What the bloody hell do you want?" demanded Britani.

"Yeah, shouldn't you be in a back room somewhere giving somebody a blowjob?" Mickie questioned with a smile.

The girls laughed at Mickie's remark and knuckle punched, as the Latina scoffed. "You two need to remember that I am practically your boss, so the more you try and insult me, the greater chance I have of firing the both of you."

"Sure, you're scary. Now what do you want?" asked Mickie.

"I just came to offer you a chance to back out of the steel cage match at No Way Out."

"And why would I want to do that?"

"Well, it was Johnny's idea, really. See, considering the fact that we're Divas, we're too…how should I say, delicate and dainty to ever be in such a violent match. So if you, AJ, Beth, and I all agree on it, we'll defeat you two for the titles in a standard 2 minute Diva's match. How's that sound?"

Mickie looked towards Britani as she looked back at her, before they bursted out laughing.

"What? What's so funny?" demanded the Latina.

"That is the biggest load of crap I have ever heard in my life!" the Country Diva exclaimed. "AJ and I certainly are not agreeing to that b.s.! You probably just went along with that because you're too afraid to get down and dirty in a match! You're probably afraid that you'll…break a nail or something. Well, have you ever bled before, Eve? No? I have. And I'm not afraid to bleed again. You're just afraid to compete in a steel cage because AJ beat your skimpy little ass back in Extreme Rules and gave you a freakin' black eye! So that's the main difference between us. AJ and I are women, you and Beth are Divas." she explained.

Eve slowly shook her head, looking as mean as ever.

"So we're not changing our minds. Tell Johnny that the rules stay as they are. We're fighting this thing out in a steel cage, take it or leave it." she concluded.

"I—ugh-FINE! Beth and I accept!" she cried, storming off.

"Wow, what crawled up her bra?" Britani asked with an amused chuckle.

* * *

Meanwhile…

CM Punk was strolling down the hall on his way to find Britani, when none other than Chris Jericho bumped into him.

"Oh hey, Punkers. Had any good drinks lately?" he asked.

He paused for a moment and decided not to say anything, before the Canadian continued, "What's wrong? Cat got your tongue? You feeling the devastating effects of that hangover? I know, they're a pain to deal with, but drink some black coffee and you'll be as good as new."

He finally turned around. "You know, dude, you only say these things to me because you don't have a life, so instead, you have to constantly harass me to get your sick little kicks." he replied. "Is that what this is all about?"

"No, Phil, that title slung around your waist is what this is all about. That title slung around your waist is the ONLY reason why I even decided to come back! And I am not leaving until I get it." he replied.

"So if all you want is my title, why the hell have you been so obsessed with dousing me in liquor? Are you trying to throw me off of my game or something?"

He chuckled. "That's exactly what I'm trying to do, Punkers. I'm trying to bring you down to that dark place that you'll never be able to come back from. And then when you least expect it, BAM! At the next PPV, that title's coming back to where it belongs."

"Ah, you keep those non-existent fantasies of yours coming, Jericho. Hey, I actually heard that they're doing an All-Stars season on Dancing With the Stars in the fall, and they're bringing back old contestants. Since you'll have nothing better to do here after you fail to win this, you can head back to Hollywood and do a few Waltzes and Salsas to impress the judges and to gain back whatever credibility you already lost here. Doesn't that sound fun?" Punk asked, laughing.

In the meantime, Chris wasn't amused. "Make jokes all you want, Punk, but I really wouldn't laugh once I win that title AND that pretty little girlfriend of yours, too."

At that moment, the Chicago native immediately grew serious. "Hey, you leave Britani out of this, you hear me?" he asked through clenched teeth.

"Oh, look who's tensing up now! You know, not only will I win her, I just may take her out for a drink."

"Shut up." he uttered.

"Not just one, of course, I'll take her out for so many that she'll be drunk out of her mind, ending up in my hotel room by the next morning." the Canadian continued.

"Shut up, you son of a BITCH!" Punk cried, about to strike him, when Jericho coiled back.

"Hey, HEY! If you even lay a hand on me outside of the ring, I can go complain to Johnny and that title will be off of you before you could even blink. So watch what you do or else there will be dire consequences."

The tattooed Superstar's hands balled into fists, and he shakily replied, "Look. I don't care if you disrespect my lifestyle, I don't care what you say about my personal life, and I sure as HELL don't care if you disrespect me. But don't you ever, EVER disrespect Britani, do you hear me? You lay one hair on her and you're history."

"We'll see." was all Jericho could reply, heading off and leaving a fuming Punk behind.

* * *

Meanwhile…

"Mickie, I'm dying to know who your secret friend is!" Britani exclaimed. "Come on, we're friends here, you can tell me!"

"Well, I don't know if I should, you might not approve!" she said nervously.

"Why wouldn't I approve, it's your life, not mine."

The Country Diva sighed. "Ok, well, promise not to get mad, but—"

Apparently, Jericho wasn't that far from where the girls were, and smiled upon seeing the Diva. "Mickie, hey!"

"Hey, Chris." she smiled back.

On the other hand, Britani's eyes widened. "Mickie, you're not serious right now."

"Did you get my text last night? I didn't hear much from you." he told her.

"Last night was a long night, Chris, I meant to reply, but I was just too tired and had to crash for the night. So how are you doing?" she asked.

The British Diva pulled her aside before he could answer her question. "Mickie, do not tell me that this chap is the guy you've been hanging out with." she said sternly.

"B, look, I've been friends with Chris for years and now we're just, y'know, reconnecting again, that's all. What's so wrong with that?"

"Uh, how about the fact that he's been terrorizing my boyfriend, and your friend, CM Punk? You have no reason to be associating with this excuse for a man!" Britani snapped.

"Oh come on, B, this isn't the Chris Jericho you see hurting Punk onscreen. Backstage, he's totally nice!" she exclaimed. "Just give him a chance."

"Yeah, B, I'm a great guy once you get to know me." he nodded along, smiling.

She refused to smile back. "It's Britani."

"I know, I was uh, just joking."

"You're not funny, bloke. Mickie, I can't believe you're friends with him."

"Can't I be friends with whoever I want to be friends with?" she asked back.

"Sure. But if you're all buddy-buddy with him, then count me out." she replied, storming off.

"Britani! Come on, you're totally overreacting!" Mickie called after her, while Jericho looked her way. "What is her deal?"

"Guess she doesn't understand that people are different than they are on camera." he shrugged.

"I guess so." she sighed, still looking in her direction. "So uh, how are you doing?"

"Not bad, not bad. Getting prepared for my summer tour with Fozzy, so that should be fun."

"Summer tour? Does that mean you'll end up missing Summerslam?" she asked.

"It depends on where my schedule takes me. Maybe, maybe not."

"Well, I hope you'll be there, I mean, Summerslam season's just as exciting as Wrestlemania season and I just want all my friends to be there." she smiled.

He smiled back. "You always were the one who wouldn't go anywhere without the entire gang. That sure hasn't changed about you."

"Well, I'm sure as hell not going anywhere by myself." she chuckled.

"I understand. And you know what else hasn't changed about you?" he asked, gazing at her.

"What?"

"You're just as beautiful now as you were back then." he said warmly.

"Aw, Chris…" she began, not really knowing what to say.

"Don't deny what's true, Mickie. You know, I'm really glad that we're spending time together again."

"I am, too. Besides, after my breakup, I need to hang out with someone out of my usual circle of friends." she replied.

He raised an eyebrow. "Breakup? You and Sabin called it quits?"

She nodded. "Unfortunately. I'm still hurting from it."

"Aw, Micks, it's gonna be all right. Do you need a hug from the Sexy Beast?"

She laughed. "You're still calling yourself that? That was like, the Jericho from 2005."

"Look, do you want a hug or not?" he asked, smirking.

"Ok, ok." the Diva replied, letting herself be wrapped in Jericho's arms. Strangely enough, she felt somewhat safe in his embrace, almost as safe as she felt when she was being held in Sabin's arms. "This is…this is nice." she announced.

He ran a hand up and down her back. "It is, isn't it?" he agreed, before looking down at her. "Hey, Mickie, if you're not busy after the show, you want to hang out somewhere again?"

"This won't be like a date, will it? I'm just not ready for that yet."

"No, not at all. It's just two friends hanging out and having a good time, I promise from the bottom of my little Jericho heart." he grinned.

"Ok, done deal." she laughed. "Now, how about I listen to more of those Fozzy tapes and pick the tracks that I like the best to go on your soon-to-come Greatest Hits compilation?"

"Yeah, that's always fun! Let's go!" he exclaimed, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as he led her off.

Little did either of them know, Sabin just happened to be around the corner and saw. Everything. He definitely didn't look happy about it, but then decided that he knew exactly where he needed to go after the show.

* * *

Later…

Chris returned to the Guns' hotel room, practically slamming the door.

In the bedroom, Velvet was startled from her reading and looked up. "Chris, is that you?"

"Yep." he muttered, lying down on the bed next to her.

"Hey, what happened? Is everything all right?" asked the blonde.

"Depends on what you call all right. I just happened to catch Mickie with Jericho. Again."

"Oh, no."

"Yep. You know, she told me that she was ready to move on, but I didn't realize it would be this quick!" he cried, folding his hands behind his head.

"Well, what did she do? Did they kiss or something?"

"No, but they might as well have. They hugged more than friends would really hug, decided to run off together again, so I'm just assuming that things are going to start from there. But whatever, I shouldn't care. She's free to do whatever she wants to." he shrugged.

Velvet turned to him with eyes of compassion. "Sab, I was afraid that this would happen. I didn't want to see you hurting over her, but now I guess you've learned the hard way."

"I guess I have." he agreed.

"And you know what? If Mickie gets to move on, then you deserve that same right."

He turned to gaze at her with a thoughtful expression, and even smiled a little. "Vel, is the offer from yesterday still up? You still willing for a second chance?"

Stunned at this, she dropped her book. "Chris, what are you saying?"

"You're right. If she's ready to move on, then I'm ready to move on. With you." he announced.

Smiling at this and not believing that this was finally happening, she touched his arm. "Chris…"

"I love you, Jamie." he kept smiling, before he leaned in to wrap her in an amazing kiss. Her arms instantly wrapped around him while she deepened the kiss, as the two lowered themselves onto the bed.


	42. Chapter 42

**Chapter 42**

Meanwhile after the show, Mickie and Chris Jericho were having one hell of a time listening to old CDs and just catching up on old times. Afterwards, he had invited her out to a local music club that he often went to whenever he was in the area, and she was glad that she tagged along. She found new music that she was beginning to love, and she was getting as close to her friend as she once was before…

"That place is so cool, Chris, they really know you well in there!" the Diva exclaimed, heading out of the club and into the night air.

"Yeah, I'm a regular, so they love me. But then again, who wouldn't love this bedazzled hunk?" he asked, smiling.

"Stop being so full of yourself, you're ego's going to make your head explode."

"Oh please, like you're no different! You're always bragging that you're the best Diva…and you brag about it in the MEN'S locker room!" exclaimed the Canadian.

"Ok, ok, fair enough. But seriously, Chris, thanks for bringing me here. It's nice to go somewhere new with someone I really haven't hung out with in so long." the brunette said with a smile.

"Sure thing. I know that breakups are rough, and I know that this one hurt a lot, considering how close you and Sabin were."

She nodded. "We were as close as close could be. After going through so many breakups in the past, I thought that he'd be the one who'd never hurt me…but he did."

"So, I'm sure that you wish that that meddlesome blonde had never come into the picture."

"You kidding? After what she did, I wish I had never met Velvet. I thought we were supposed to be friends, and, I didn't think she'd ever betray me like this…I just didn't know it would hurt this much." her voice broke.

He genuinely felt bad for the brunette, and wrapped his arms around her. "The pain's gonna be over, Mickie, trust me. It hurts, but it doesn't hurt forever. You'll move on from this and you'll find someone who'll never do this to you again." replied Jericho.

"When will that be?" she asked quietly.

"Who knows?" he asked, looking down at her. "Sometimes that person might be right under your nose."

Mickie looked back up at him, while his blue eyes – the eyes that were so similar to Sabin's – gazed into hers. Smiling a little, he brushed back a strand of her hair. At that moment, Mickie had felt a chill run down her spine. She didn't know if that chill was from the cold breeze outside, or from him. Before she could blink, he slowly inched closer to her, as his lips brushed against hers in a subtle peck, but then he pulled her closer to him, deepening the kiss.

Mickie blinked a little before pushing away. "Wait, Chris, stop." she shook her head. "You can't do this, for God's sakes, you're married!"

He chuckled lightly and replied, "No, Mickie, it's ok. To tell you the truth, Jessica and I are actually in the middle of getting a divorce."

She gasped and her eyes grew wide. "What? But I thought you guys were happy together!"

"Eh, times change, things happen, you can't predict em. So I guess I'm sorta going through a breakup like you are." he shrugged a little.

"But this is way worse than what I'm going through, I mean, what about the kids?" she asked.

"Joint custody. We don't want em being torn between us, so we'll work out a deal."

"Oh, my God, I am so sorry to hear all this. Please, if there's anything that I can do—"

"Just be my friend. That's all I'd ever ask of you." replied the Canadian.

She smiled and gave him a hug. "You got it. Now, about that kiss…"

"Heh heh, too much, huh?"

"To be honest, it was a little awkward. Let's slow down a little before anything serious happens, all right?"

"You got it." he repeated with a smile. "Wait, by 'anything serious', are you implying that there's a future in store for us or something?"

"Hmm…let's just not rush things. If anything happens, it happens. But for now, let's remain friends, ok?" asked the Diva with a grin.

"Best friends." Y2J smiled back. "C'mon, I'll walk you back home."

* * *

So for days and weeks after that, Jericho and Mickie hung out more and more to the point where all her time was spent with him, and not her friends. They were worried about her, of course, but she seemed to be in her own world – with him.

Chris and Velvet had begun to date once again, and they seemed just as happy as they were when they first dated, believe it or not. No arguments, fights, or disputes of any kind, and despite the occasional glares she received from Alex, Velvet finally felt accepted into the group.

On the other hand, Mickie and Jericho had bonded so much that they shared kisses more often, to where it got to the point where they decided that they wanted to start dating as well. Of course, they wanted to keep it a secret, because all hell would break loose if anyone had known. One night, the two were at a restaurant, on their own little romantic date…

They were sitting at a table near the back of the restaurant, chatting over dessert.

"Oh my God, I'm stuffed, I can't have any more." Mickie giggled, taking a sip of her drink.

"Aw come on, babe, you gotta have room for dessert! I just ordered a delicious chocolate mousse cake that you just HAVE to try." replied Jericho.

"No, I don't have room, in fact, I have to work all of this off if I want to keep my figure." she replied.

"What does it matter, your figure is perfect the way it is, and it always will."

She blushed. "You're such a charmer, Chris."

"That's what I do best." he replied, smiling. "So, uh, are you still all right with this exclusive dating thing of ours? I don't want you to think that keeping this whole secret is uncomfortable for you."

"Hey, it's nobody's business who I decide to date, anyway, so I'm happy with things exactly the way they are. And I'm happy being with you." the Diva smiled back.

"Likewise, Fair Mickie." Chris replied, kissing her hand.

Soon after that, the waiter brought them their chocolate mousse cake.

"Ah, awesome! Now Mickie, are you sure that you don't want a bit of this delicious chocolatey goodness?" he smirked, holding up a slice with his fork.

"Well, I just want to know why you have to pay $15.99 for such a tiny little thing! Aren't you upset that this place is practically robbing you?" she asked.

"Well yeah, normally I'd refuse to pay and sneak out of the back door, but this cake is exclusively from Italy, so it's supposed to be the most delicious cake in the world." he explained.

"In the world, you say?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "Ok, let me try one bite."

He grinned and picked up a huge chunk with his fork.

"Hey, I want a small one! God knows how many calories are in that stuff."

"Look, do you want this or not?" the Canadian asked, laughing.

"Ok, ok, feed me."

He continued grinning while he fed her the dessert, and watched as her eyes closed in bliss and she moaned a little. "Mmm…"

Jericho couldn't help but to smirk, liking that particular sound that she made. "So?"

"That…was the greatest cake I've ever tasted. I want more." she said, almost demanding.

"See, I told ya it was the greatest cake in the world!" he exclaimed, feeding her another slice. "And by the way, that little moaning sound that you made a few seconds ago, I found that pretty hot."

"Oh? Want me to do it again?" the Country beauty said with a seductive smile.

He chuckled. "Sure!"

"Ok, feed me again."

He did what he was told and fed her another slice, while her eyelids narrowed and she purposely cried out, "Mmmm, that cake is _soooo_ yummy that...I could have it forever…"

"Wow, you could be one of those phone sex operators or something!" he exclaimed.

She looked surprised and playfully slapped his arm. "Thanks for ruining the mood!"

"Hey, the mood is nowhere near ruined. In fact, you know what I'm thinking about now?" he asked.

"What?"

"I'm thinking about how absolutely gorgeous you look right now."

She smiled.

"And I just wish that all these people here suddenly disappeared." continued Chris.

"Why?"

"So we could have the entire place to ourselves and I could do this…" he trailed off, leaning in and wrapping her in a passionate kiss. He gazed at her again. "And this…" he kissed her once again. "And maybe even this…" he finished, making the third kiss more passionate than the last two. Once they broke away, Mickie shyly bit her lower lip and beamed, once he announced, "Mickie, spend the night with me. Please."

How could she resist an offer like that? The Diva nodded and replied, "Let's get outta here."

They linked hands before she leaned up to wrap him in a kiss, while they headed towards the exit. But as soon as they broke away, Mickie locked her eyes on Chris Sabin and Velvet Sky breaking away from their kiss and turning to the two in shock. Seeing Sabin once again, and how he was all over Velvet, Mickie's heart immediately sank. Likewise, Chris had felt exactly the same way seeing Mickie all over Jericho.

Mickie spoke first. "…Oh-Oh, my God."

"Mickie, what the hell are you doing with HIM?" Sabin demanded.

"What the hell are you doing with HER?" she demanded back.

"Mickie, don't even act so surprised. You ran out on Chris, YOU ran off to be with Jericho here, and now Chris is with the woman who truly cares about him – Me!" Velvet replied.

The Diva crossed her arms, and bitterly shook her head. "You are such a whore."

"Mickie, stop it, all right?" demanded Sabin. "Why are you even so concerned, you were the one who ended things with me in the first place!"

"But I didn't think that you'd get with HER so damn fast!" she snapped back.

"Hey, hey, can I say something here, please?" Jericho spoke up. "Chris? Hey, how ya doing, nice to meet another Chris. Now, do you have any right to patronize Mickie here? As I recall, YOU were the one who cheated on her in the first place, so where does the blame really go?"

"This is none of your damn business, man!" Sabin snapped.

"Jericho here has every right to know because I was the one who told him. See, he was there for me, and he was more of a friend to me lately than anyone. So stay out of it." Mickie replied.

"Mickie, none of this would've happened if you'd just treated Chris the way he deserves to be treated!" Velvet exclaimed.

The Diva's eyes pierced into the Knockout's before she turned to Sabin, saying, "Chris, just be careful dealing with her, ok? I just hope that she doesn't give you Hepatitis C or whatever other diseases she's currently carrying."

Sabin was shocked to have heard that and slowly shook his head, while Velvet had felt like she had been punched in the stomach and began tearing up. "Screw you, bitch!" the blonde spat, her voice breaking. "And this is coming from someone who's probably slept with the entire roster?"

"I will take you _down_—" the angry brunette began tearfully, about to get in her face, before Jericho tightly grabbed her by the shoulders and said, "Mickie, now's not the time, let's just leave, all right? C'mon."

Once she was taken out, she called from a distance, _"I hate you, Velvet, you can just go to HELL!"_

Ignoring the other guests staring at them, Velvet stood there sniffling with tears streaming down her face, when Sabin immediately wrapped his arms around his girlfriend. "Hey, don't listen to her, she didn't know what she was saying." he said soothingly, slowly running a hand up and down her back.

"I hate her, Chris, I hate her…" she sobbed in his chest.


	43. Chapter 43

**Chapter 43**

After the huge confrontation back at the restaurant, tensions were getting even higher. But since that night was PPV Sunday, June 17th, it was the night of No Way Out in East Rutherford, NJ, and whatever animosity that anyone had for one another, it had to be settled in the ring. Now, Alex, AJ, Chris, and Velvet were in the Guns' locker room, while Mickie was somewhere with Jericho…

"Oh my God, I just can't believe Mickie's with…Jericho." AJ announced, shocked. "But why?"

"I don't know when they began dating or how, but frankly, this is her decision, so I think that we should just stay out of it." Chris answered.

"So does this mean that we've lost her?" asked Alex. "Lost her to the enemy?"

"She was a Gun. She was supposed to be on our side." agreed April.

"…Things change, I guess." Chris replied, silently looking at his reflection in the mirror.

"Guys, we can't let this bring you down. You two have a match tonight, so maybe you should focus your attentions on that." announced Velvet.

Alex still wasn't pleased at all that Chris had taken her back. "We already know about tonight, cheerleader, thanks." he said sarcastically.

She sent him a look. "Look, Alex, I don't care what you think about me, ok, but Chris and I are together now and you'll just have to accept it. I thought we were supposed to be friends."

"At one point, we were. But under the recent circumstances, I now consider us what you and Chris used to be – frenemies." the Detroit native replied surely.

"Oh yeah? Well I am perfectly fine with that…Thing."

"Oh, my God." Chris said quickly.

"Creature!" Alex snapped back, standing up.

"Whoa, whoa, WHOA!" AJ exclaimed, stopping the argument. "Alex, you need to calm down, baby, so let's take a little walk. Ok?"

He snarled towards Velvet and linked hands with his girlfriend. "Ok." he pouted. "I need some juice."

Chris bursted out chuckling.

"Ok, we'll go to the drink machine for that. " AJ said calmly, leading him out.

"Guys, just hurry back, we have our matches in about 10 minutes!" called Sabin.

"Don't forget to bring Alex his _skrimps!_" Velvet exclaimed mockingly.

Shelley poked his head back into the room, grunted, and then was pulled back out by AJ.

As they strolled down the hall, he said, "I can't believe that things have come to this. She and I are calling each other derogatory names."

April laughed. "This is going to take a lot of getting used to! So are you ready for your tag match with Chris and Punk in the Chamber?"

"Oh yeah, I'm stoked! This is mine and Chris's first Chamber match, so there's no doubt that we'll be sore, but once we win back our titles, it'll all be worth it." he smiled. "Now enough about me, my beautiful girlfriend is about to enter a steel cage for the very first time and I'm worried as hell."

"Shells, you're the sweetest, but you don't have to worry. I know it seems scary for a tiny thing like me, but I'm a big girl now and I'm looking forward to doing this. Plus, by doing this, we'll set the bar high for the Diva's—Women's Division once again." she said with a smile.

Alex shook his head, the smile never leaving his face. "Man, you're awesome. I love you so much."

"I love you, too." she beamed, wrapping her boyfriend in an amazing kiss. "But now, Mickie's still my tag team partner and we haven't spoken in like, forever, so I just hope that we'll be on the right page tonight. It'd seriously blow if we lost these titles to Eve, the corporate whore, and Beth Phoenix of all people."

"Well, I have faith in you guys that you'll destroy em. Mostly cause Alex Shelley's girlfriend is kick-ass, just like he is." he agreed surely.

"Ooh, you always know the right things to say; kiss me again, you handsome stud." she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Gladly…" he trailed off, making out with her once again. "Mm, as much as I'd love to spend an eternity here kissing you, I better grab a Red Bull to hype me up for the match. Will you be ok here for a sec?"

"Sure, no prob!"

"K, be right back." he flashed her a grin before heading off.

The tiny Diva gazed in his direction, already waiting for him to return. Despite the problems going on with her best friend Mickie, AJ was still pretty glad considering that she and Alex were happier than ever, Chris was still her 'big brother', and she still had a (surprisingly) good relationship with Velvet. Not to mention that she still had her Diva's tag title slung over her waist. Then, she was jarred out of her thoughts once Alberto Del Rio headed her way. "Ay, AJ, it is great to run into you once again!"

"Uh, hey. Listen, I just wanted to thank you again for giving me and Kaitlyn the $5,000. You seriously didn't have to do all that for us."

"Oh no thanks are necessary! I am a true gentleman, and I believe that the lady deserves all of the riches in the world. I just came to wish you great luck in your match tonight." replied the Mexican aristocrat.

She raised an eyebrow. "…Thank you?" she replied, totally unsure.

He smiled and sent her a wink, before strolling back on his merry way. "Ricardo, _vamanos!"_

His announcer/lackey quickly scurried behind him.

"…Well, that wasn't weird." the Diva concluded flatly.

"What wasn't weird?" Alex asked, joining her and kissing her cheek.

"Oh, Del Rio just stopped by and wished me good luck on my match. And then for some reason, he winked at me." she explained.

"Winked at you?" he grew serious. "What? What is this? Winking? I don't want strange guys winking at my woman."

She giggled. "Shells, calm down, I'm sure it was nothing, so don't get worked up over it."

"Okay. So did you ask him if he could send me that check for $500 grand?" he asked happily.

"Dude, he's not giving you any money, so give it a rest!" she laughed once they headed off.

...

A little later, the Divas Tag title match was up next…

"You ready to nail this, babe?" Alex asked, massaging AJ's shoulders.

"We got faith in you, sis." Chris agreed, tassling her hair once again.

"Yep, I'm ready for this." she nodded surely. "Now to just wait for my tag partner to get here."

And right then and there, they all grew silent once Mickie, with Jericho in tow, cautiously approached the group. The Country Diva kissed her new boyfriend, and then sent a look towards Velvet as she sent a vicious one back at her, while Chris said nothing and crossed his arms. Alex really didn't know what to say to her at that point, as did AJ. Finally, Mickie asked her partner, "Ready to do this?"

She quietly nodded.

"Ok, let's go." the Diva replied, walking ahead.

After a brief and awkward silence, Velvet told AJ, "Good luck, AJ, we know you can do this."

She flashed her a smile, hugged Chris, and kissed Alex. "Thanks, Velvet. Thanks, you guys." the brunette replied, soon following Mickie.

* * *

Moments later, the match was about to begin. The steel cage had just finished lowering around the ring, and then once Beth Phoenix's theme blasted through the arena first, Lillian announced, "This Steel Cage match is scheduled for one fall, and it is for the Diva's Tag Team Championships! Approaching the ring first from Buffalo, New York, she is the current WWE Diva's Champion, the Glamazon, Beth Phoenix!"

The jeers from the crowd continued to go on once the Dominant Diva strolled down to the ring with her title proudly slung over her shoulder. Looking up at the cage, she smiled and shook one side of it, making sure that it was sturdy enough. Once she entered the cage, she sat over the corner turnbuckles and raised her title above her head. Next, Eve's music began:

_She looks good to me_

_She's got everything I want_

_(She's got everything I need)_

_She looks good!_

_She looks good to me_

_She's got everything I want_

_(Oh yeah)..._

"And her tag team partner, from Denver Colorado, Eve Torres!" Lillian announced while the Latina did her pose at the top of the ramp, and then strutted down towards the ring. Some of the crowd members continued to call out, "HOESKI, HOESKI, HOESKI!"

She yelled for them to shut up, and then looked up at the demonic structure that was the steel cage. There was no doubt that she was terrified as hell, but in order to prove her worth into Laurinitis's group and to prove to Mickie and AJ that she was tough, she put on her game face and entered the cage alongside Beth. Finally, Mickie's theme music was heard around the arena next:

_"Hey, hey, can't you see?_

_I'm a rockin southern girl runnin' wild and free_

_Hey, ya'll walkin' through the door_

_High-class style country to the core_

_HARDCORE COUNTRY!_

_Back woods or uptown_

_HARDCORE COUNTRY!_

_Rockin' your world with a thrillbilly sound_

_Hills and stones_

_Junior and Jones_

_One thing I'll always be_

_HARDCORE COUNTRY!"_

The fans roared in approval for the Female Guns who came out next, while Lillian exclaimed, "And their opponents, they are the current Diva's tag team champions hailing from Union City, New Jersey, AJ, and her tag team partner from Richmond Virginia, Mickie James!"

Now even though things seemed a little weird between the two, as the two stood back to back and posed their Guns sign, Mickie sent AJ a little wink as if to say, 'We've totally got this, don't worry'. The tiny Diva smiled back and nodded, before they headed down the ramp, slapped hands with the fans, and then looked up at the structure of the steel cage. Not afraid at all, the girls smiled before quickly entering the steel square.

Across from them, they could see Beth and Eve flashing them looks and calling out threats, and the girls smirked in reply, deciding not to take them so seriously. Beth was angry at this and decided to tackle them both down while they weren't looking, causing both Mickie and AJ to crash into the wall of the cage. The ref demanded that some order be restored, and while AJ held the back of her head and was about to go after her, Mickie stopped her and decided to step in first.

The Glamazon smiled and cracked her knuckles, ready for a fight. Once Eve and AJ were behind the ropes, the ref signaled for the bell to ring, and the match was underway as the two stood face to face with one another. Beth taunted her, but Mickie wasn't having any of that, so she forcefully slapped her across the face in reply. The blonde was shocked at this, before angrily shoving the Diva against the wall and then attacking her with a military press, which transitioned into a slam to the mat. The Country Diva reeled in pain for a moment, but once Beth climbed up onto the second rope, Mickie looked up and before the blonde could leap onto her, the brunette quickly rolled out of her path and into the middle of the ring.

There, Beth sped to meet up with her enemy, only to be taken down with a hurricanrana driver, sending the blonde head first into the mat. Mickie quickly went for the cover, but Beth kicked out at two. Still in control, the Country Diva picked up the blonde and nailed her with a couple of rough punches across the face, before the Glamazon powered back by attacking Mickie with a slingshot suplex. Now, she went for a quick cover, but the brunette kicked out at two.

Once both women got back up to their feet, they sent glares towards one another before they had the same idea and forcefully clotheslined each other, sending them both down, crumpled in pain. AJ desperately reached out for a tag, as did Eve, and the women in the ring slowly crawled to their respective corners. Seeing that Mickie was close to reaching AJ, though, Beth delayed tagging in Eve – to her dismay – and decided to lift Mickie over her shoulders, and when AJ attempted to stop her, Beth somehow managed to lift the tiny Diva over Mickie's body. As an amazing feat of strength, the Glamazon fell back, causing the tag champs to crash into the mat.

While they both held their backs in pain, Eve smiled at this, climbed in from behind the ropes, and specifically attacked AJ with a few punches before Beth urged for her to stop. Since the only ways to win were to either escape the cage, or gain a pinfall, the blonde gestured towards the cage door, while the Latina smiled along. They urged for the ref to hurry and get the door opened, but before he could, Mickie quickly got up and grabbed Beth, attacking her with a spinning leg sweep, at the same time that AJ had attacked Eve with a spinning wheel kick. With the two heels down, the crowd cheered in approval while the Female Guns posed in the middle of the ring.

Later, Eve currently had the advantage over her enemy, AJ, by holding her in a reverse triangle choke hold. The tiny Diva struggled to power out of it, but once she nearly reached the ropes, Eve laughed and purposely dragged her away. After a few more moments, the smaller woman countered by attacking the Latina by first kicking her off, and then before Eve could blink, she was taken down by another hurricanrana. Next, the tiny Diva tagged in Mickie, before they both dragged the screaming and whining Latina towards the corner turnbuckle, placing her upside down into the Tree of Woe position.

Trying to escape, Eve frantically waved her arms around and tried to untangle her legs, but it was no use once AJ kicked the Latina further into the ringpost with a baseball slide, followed by a hesitation dropkick by Mickie. Finally, Eve slid out of her uncomfortable position and grabbed onto AJ's leg, attempting to pull her back down, but since Mickie was tagged in, she took the opportunity to inflict more pain on the Latina with a facebreaker knee smash. Stunned, she stumbled around and pretty much gave Mickie the chance to capitalize with an inverted bulldog. The Country Diva quickly went for a cover, but Eve kicked out at two and a half.

Before Mickie could plan her next move, Eve's eyes widened and she backed away towards her corner. Mickie laughed at her show of cowardice, but the Latina signaled a time-out and pleaded for Mickie to back away. Meanwhile, Beth rolled her eyes at this and tagged herself in, taking the perky Diva down with a Samoan driver, followed by non-stop punches and kicks to the abdomen. Mickie stumbled back up to her feet, only to be slammed into the steel wall. The blonde had on a sadistic smile once she connected her foot to the back of the Diva's head, forcefully pressing her face against the sharp steel.

Mickie cringed in pain, but that pain was only escalated once the Glamazon held both of her arms back in a chickenwing position. The ref was forced to pry Beth away, and once he did, Mickie slumped to a sitting position against the corner turnbuckle, trying to gain her strength back. Once Beth was finished listening to the ref, she smiled upon seeing Mickie literally so cornered, so she sped towards her with an outstretched boot. The Diva saw this, though, and quickly slid out of harm's way and allowing the blonde to crash into the turnbuckles. Mickie soon tagged in her partner, and AJ ran to attack Beth while she was still vulnerable.

After first taking her down with a backpack stunner, she then moved on to place the blonde's head between her legs, and then performed multiple push-up facebusters. The guys in the crowd cheered and called out a few wolf whistles upon seeing the almost-sexual like move, while she went for the cover. Beth kicked out at two and a half. April went for her next move, but instead she turned to Eve, who was quickly climbing up the cage and desperately wanting to win by escaping. Beth followed along by climbing up the opposite wall, and the female Guns had to catch them before it was too late.

Once they rushed to climb up and after their opponents, none of them saw Natalya climbing through the audience and then appearing at ringside, looking up at the cage with a smirk plastered upon her face. Meanwhile, Eve was perched on top of the cage and was ready to leap down to the ground if need be, but once she saw Nattie sending a wave towards her, she looked in wide-eyed shock and cried, "Why the hell are you here? Go AWAY!"

Shaking her head and chuckling, she gestured for Eve to look back.

Looking back, she found AJ also perched on top alongside her, and before the Latina could do anything, she was kicked back inside of the ring, falling about 10 feet and landing hard onto the canvas. Beth shockingly saw the damage done to her partner, and then turned back to Mickie, who was smiling all the way. Beth tried to reason with her, but the Country Diva followed AJ's example and shoved her back into the ring next.

As the crowd was red hot, cheering for their favorites, both Guns smiled at one another and carefully stood over the top of the cage. Neither of them had ever thought that they'd be doing such a risky and dangerous move, but the girls posed for the crowd, before they simultaneously leapt off of the 10 foot cage and landed on top of Beth and Eve's prone bodies, pinning them down. The ref slipped in and counted, "1…2…3!"

The fans roared in approval, while they steadily got up and grabbed their tag titles from the referee. Lillian exclaimed, "Here are your winners and STILL the Diva's tag team champions, the team of AJ and Mickie James!"

The girls hugged one another and then climbed out of the cage, raising each other's arms in victory, and then noticed that Nattie was applauding for them. Confused at this, they shrugged and flashed her thankful smiles, before heading back. In the ring, though, Beth and Eve sent confused looks at one another, before turning to Nattie, who kept grinning and blew them – specifically Eve – a kiss as if to say, 'You got what you deserved, bitch'.

* * *

**_AN: Aw, crap. Sorry that the match turned out to be so long._**


	44. Chapter 44

**_AN: Thanks for the reviews as always, everyone! Just a heads up, I'm going to upload two chapters today, and two chapters tomorrow. Not a permanent thing, but I wanted to leave a good cliffhanger for you guys on Friday. ;)_**

* * *

**Chapter 44**

Backstage, after the girls' match…

Alex, Chris, and Velvet were the first to meet the two once they arrived backstage, and Alex smiled while he wrapped his girlfriend in a hug which slightly lifted her off of the ground.

"Aw, you ladies NAILED it out there, that was awesome!" he exclaimed.

"Especially that leap from the top of the cage, that was freaking insane! I'm just glad that you two are all right." added Chris.

AJ giggled. "Thanks, you guys, it was a lot of fun beating the crap out of those two prisses, being extreme, and keeping our titles all at the same time!" she exclaimed. "So um, what'd you think of the match, Mickie?"

Considering the fact that she was still pretty strained from the group, she turned to her and replied, "I'm happy with how it went, and I'm just glad that we had a chance to prove to the crowd that we're more than just Divas."

"Of course you're not Divas, I'd put you two in the same league as Trish and Lita if I could." Alex turned to her with a light smile.

Mickie flashed him a smile and replied, "Aw, thanks, Shells, that really is a compliment. Plus, I really wouldn't mind seeing Trish again especially, since she was the object of my affection at one point." she couldn't help but to reminisce.

"Yeah, that time where you planted that kiss on her under the mistletoe, that was freaking hot!" he laughed.

"Yes, my first ever girl-on-girl experience, never before, never again." the Country Diva agreed while the others laughed.

Chris couldn't help but to smile back at her, while Mickie caught a glimpse of him and flashed a small smile back towards him.

Velvet crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "SO, guys, your match is up next, you ready?" she changed the subject and turned to the boys. She didn't see Mickie shoot a death glance back at her.

"Oh yeah, your first ever Chamber match! Just be careful out there, please." AJ added.

"Well, I don't know if we'll be able to top what you two just did out there, but we'll sure as hell try." replied Alex.

"Oh come on, you're teaming with the WWE Champion, you three are going to be great!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah, listen to your girlfriend, Shelley, you need to stop being so self conscious and have some damn confidence in yourself!" Chris smirked. "Cause if you don't, Punk and I will just upstage you."

He grumbled and playfully slapped him upside the head. "You do that, and I'll kick your ass."

"But you love me as a friend too much for you to ever do so!" he argued back, amused.

"What are you on? I've done tons of horrible things to you before, don't you remember the turkey incident?" asked Shelley.

"Oh GOD, no! AJ, please shut him up cause I don't want to relive that horrible day!" Chris exclaimed, covering his ears and rushing off. Well, first he backtracked, kissed Velvet, said, "I love you, babe.", and then rushed back off.

Both Velvet and AJ laughed along, while Alex just shook his head.

"Wussy." he laughed. "I better go and stop him before he does something stupid. Wish us luck out there, K?"

AJ smiled and gave him a passionate kiss. "You don't need luck, you're a Machine Gun. Now go and kick ass so that you and I can celebrate later tonight."

"Ooh, baby, I will make damn sure that we win! Later, Creature." he turned to Velvet.

She smirked and replied, "Whatever, Thing!"

Once he headed off, AJ looked around to find that Mickie wasn't there. "Hey, where'd Mickie go?"

"Beats me. Probably off with Jericho or something, I dunno." the blonde shrugged.

"Vel, are things really that bad between you and Mickie now?"

"Yes, they're that bad now, AJ. You should've been there at the restaurant that other night, I find her smooching all over Jericho, and once I saw the look on Sab's face, I just knew that Mickie intentionally wanted to hurt him again by making him jealous." she explained.

"Come on, I can't believe that Mickie would ever hurt Chris on purpose."

"Well, she definitely did, and that's why I'm with him now. Nobody seems to understand that me and Sabin, we have a history together, he and I have this bond that nobody else can have. Kind of like how you and Alex are, y'know?"

She nodded. "True, true."

"I just don't get why nobody wants us to be together. Mickie clearly moved on, so Chris deserves that same right. All I want is for him to be happy and for me to be accepted into the group. That's it." the blonde pleaded.

"Well, now since you're Chris's girlfriend, I guess that automatically includes you into the gang, as for Alex, well, let the insult wars begin, and with me…" she began.

"Yeah? Are we still friends?"

She sighed. "I don't appreciate what's going on with you and Mickie and the fact that she's distancing herself from us, but since Chris is practically like my brother and you care about him like you say you do, I trust that you'll keep your word and make him a happy boy. So yes, we're still friends." she smiled.

Velvet smiled back and gave her a hug. "Oh, you don't know how happy I am to hear that, thank you."

"Sure." she replied, before seeing Natalya stroll by with a satisfied smile on her face. "Oh, be right back. Hey, Nattie!"

She turned to her. "Oh, hey, congrats on the win, that was a pretty epic match."

"All thanks to you! I had no idea that you wanted to help us."

"Actually, I didn't do what I did for you two. I did it for me." the Canadian said with a nod.

Understanding what she was doing and where she was coming from, AJ smiled a little and nodded back. "Smart girl."

"I know I am. Have a nice evening." the blonde smiled back, giving her a little wave as she headed down the hall.

...

Once she turned the hall, she was suddenly face to face with a pissed off Beth and an even more pissed off Eve.

"What the hell were you thinking, Nattie?" demanded Beth. "Why did you come out there and cost us the win?"

"I ought to FIRE you for what you did, we nearly got KILLED in that match!" Eve freaked out. "I offered a nice, two minute standard Diva's match, but NOO, it just HAD to be inside of that steel cage of death!"

Nattle chuckled and shook her head. "I just did what I had to do out there. You shouldn't have tried to steal my best friend from me."

Beth's features softened a bit. "You did that…for me?"

"That's unacceptable. You know what? After what you did, I ought to just take you out of our group! Then you'll be left with nothing, haha." Eve announced.

"I'm not afraid of you, missy! You can't just waltz in and tell everybody what to do! Even if you are Johnny's main ho!" Nattie exclaimed, to the utter shock of Eve. "And just a little sprinkle of advice - don't get your knees dirty from being on the floor under Ace's desk so much! If ya know what I mean." she finished with a wink.

"OH!" Eve stood in wide eyed shock, not even knowing what to say. "How…how dare she disrespect me that way?"

Meanwhile, Beth couldn't reply, since she was still touched that Nattie was still thinking of her as her best friend. Finally, she replied, "Well, I'm still the Diva's champ, so I'm happy."

After she walked off, Eve had no idea what she was going to do next, so she did the one thing she knew best: "…JOHNNY! JOHNNYYY!"

Once she made it to his office, he opened the door and replied, "What's the problem, Eve, I could hear you from miles away!"

"I want a title shot, and I want it NOW." she demanded.

"Oh? And what are you willing to give me in return?" he asked with a perverted smile.

Looking around, she locked the door and slid down the shade over the door's window. "I know exactly what I'm willing to give you."

* * *

Meanwhile, after a lot of searching, Mickie had run into Jericho in the hall, as he was rushing off to get ready for the Chamber match.

"Chris! There you are!" she exclaimed, giving him a quick kiss.

He smiled and grabbed her hand. "Hey, babycakes, we'll have to walk and talk at the same time, can't be late for the match." he said in a rush. "So, you kicked some serious ass in that match, I'm just glad that you didn't get hurt out there."

She smiled. "Oh, you're so sweet, but I'm totally fine, I know how to handle my own! Listen, I just wanted to wish you good luck out there."

"But I'm going to be the one fighting against your friends, so I don't know if it's a good idea to root for me." replied the Canadian.

"I know, and I hate being torn between everyone, but still, if the circumstances come out with you as the winner, I will not be disappointed." the Diva replied.

He smiled at her and leaned down to give her a soft and lasting kiss. "Well, I hope that the circumstances are in our favor. I'm dedicating this match to you, baby." he replied, cutely tapping the tip of her nose before rushing off to join Dolph and Dave, his partners.

Mickie was left smiling the whole time, suddenly realizing that she was really developing feelings for a guy that she once called a friend. But then again, it could've just been desperation speaking, since she was still getting over her breakup with Sabin. "Be careful!" she called after him.


	45. Chapter 45

**Chapter 45**

And not long after that, the Chamber match was about to begin. The large steel structure was already built around the ring, as Lillian stood outside and announced, "This Elimination Chamber 6 man tag team match is scheduled for one fall, and it is for the WWE tag team championships, and the WWE Championship! Two opponents will start out in the ring, and after 5 minutes, a new Superstar will enter the ring. Once that Superstar submits or is pinned, they are eliminated. The last man standing in the ring will win for his team."

And then, Dolph's music blasted around the arena first, as both he and Dave, with their Tag titles slung over their shoulders, arrived first.

_"I'm here to show the world_

_I'm here to show the world_

_Come on!_

_Bring it on..._

_Do what I say, better watch what I do_

_Better heed the warning I'm here to give you_

_If you ever doubted me, you don't have a clue_

_I'm here to show the world_

_I'm here to show the world..."_

"Approaching the ring first, they are the current WWE tag team champions, from Hollywood, Florida, Dolph Ziggler, and from Washington D.C., the Animal, Batista!" she exclaimed as the crowd's boos flooded the arena.

The two heels strolled down towards the Chamber, looking it down and realizing the pain they were in for. They discussed among themselves who'd be going in the ring first, but were cut off once the lights suddenly shut off, and there was a quiet pause.

Then from the ramp, a silhouette with outstretched arms and bright lights was shown, before Chris Jericho's theme and pyro began next:

_Come on, Jerichoooo_

_You know I got ya, yeah_

_One, Break the wall DOWN!_

_(Break down the walls)_

_For those about to rock and what you want_

_Baby you know you're Judas and I'm your priest_

_Baby what I got is not from the least_

_Bring it through the stage in the rage of a beast…_

The lights came back on, and Jericho, with his sparkly jacket strolled down towards the ring in his usual cocky fashion.

"And their tag team partner from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, Chris Jericho!" she exclaimed.

The crowd's jeers continued while he pretty much sent them all glares and ignored them, before approaching his partners and arguing over who would step into the ring first. Finally after countless discussion and the ref urging for them to hurry the hell up, it was decided that Dolph would start things in the ring, allowing Jericho and Batista to be locked into their chamber pods for the time being. After that, the Guns' theme began and the fans immediately went wild:

_"Hundred miles an hour on a dead end road_

_I need a little Detroit in my soul_

_Every night's hotel a different name_

_It's part of the game_

_Everybody wants to be just like me_

_Fame and fortune is their fantasy_

_I gotta get back where the life was pretty_

_Rockin all the way to the Motorcity_

_Motorcity, motorcity, motorcity, I'm rockin' all the way to the motorcity..."_

"And their opponents, approaching the ring from Detroit, Michigan, they are the team of Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin, the Motor City Machine Guns!" exclaimed Lillian.

The boys stood back to back and posed their Guns sign, before strolling down the ramp and slapping the fans' hands while the cheers continued. Looking up at the Chamber, they couldn't deny that they were a little intimidated, but they've faced the odds before, so they were looking forward to a new challenge. Finally, CM Punk's theme blasted through the place, completing the lineup.

_Look in my eyes, what do you see?_

_The cult of personality_

_I know your anger, I know your dreams_

_I've been everything you want to be_

_I'm the cult of personality..."_

"And their partner hailing from Chicago, Illinois, he is the WWE Champion, CM Punk!" she exclaimed as the fans' cheers continued. The tattooed Superstar spun around and exclaimed, "IT'S CLOBBERIN' TIME!" before strolling down the ramp and shaking hands with Chris and Alex. Looking at the Chamber, the three also had to decide who was going in first, and it was soon decided that Alex would start things off for his team, allowing Chris and Punk to enter their pods.

Once the Chamber was all locked up, Shelley and Ziggler eyed one another down and called out threats towards one another, before the ref called for the bell to start the match. The men circled around one another before Dolph got the first punch in and capitalized with a few more. Alex was taken back a bit, but soon fought back with a few quick punches and kicks of his own, sending Dolph back this time. The bleach blonde then decided to speed back towards the ropes and head towards Shelley, Alex quickly ducked and lied down over the mat, allowing Dolph to leap over him, and when he ran back, Alex leapt up and took him down with a swinging fisherman suplex.

He went for the cover, but Dolph countered so that he held Shelley's shoulders down to the mat. The ref counted once again, but Shelley kicked out at 2 this time. Finally out of each other's grasp, the two eyed one another down, before grappling one another. Dolph stopped the Detroit native ater a rough knee to the gut, followed by a few punches to the back. Shelley was trying to stand back up and fight back, but couldn't once Dolph capitalized with a swinging neckbreaker, followed by a headstand, while he held Shelley in a headlock at the same time. With him being the show-off that he was, he smiled the entire time, while the crowd sent jeers his way. Alex was able to power out of the hold, once he surprised the blonde with a few rough kicks, followed by a spinning headlock elbow drop. Going for the cover, the ref counted, but Dolph kicked out at 2.

On the titantron, the clock began counting down from 5 seconds, and soon after that, a second ref unlocked Chris's pod next, letting him join in on the fun while the crowd cheered, seeing both Guns cornering Dolph, with triumphant smiles on their faces. The blonde quickly looked back and forth between the two, and with his quick thinking, decided to slap the both of them across the faces before running to a corner, trying to think up a plan.

The Guns, however, were having none of that. Alex ran after Dolph and took him down with an inverted atomic drop, followed by a running dropkick to the knees by Chris, followed by an inverted STF by Shelley, finishing with a running dropkick to the face by Sabin. The fans chanted, "MMG! MMG! MMG! MMG!" as the two did their signature poses in the middle of the ring. Punk was smiling the whole time while watching from his pod, as both Jericho and Dave were screaming for Dolph to get up and fight.

As the boys approached the lone blonde, they were ready to attack again by both speeding his way, but once Dolph ducked out of the way, the boys crashed into the steel chains of the Chamber, crashing to the metal ground outside of the ropes. Holding their backs in pain, a snide smirk grew on the face of Ziggler, and he decided to exact his revenge by first lifting up Shelley and slamming him down to the metal, causing him to yell out in pain and grab his back once again. The blonde laughed at this and then moved on to Sabin, about to repeat his actions, but before he could, Chris avenged his best friend by giving Ziggler a swinging side slam backbreaker onto the metal floor.

He quickly went for the cover, but the blonde kicked out at 2 and a half. After that, Chris checked on Alex to make sure that he was all right, and he nodded in reply before the two approached a prone Ziggler once again, with a second double teamed move in mind. Alex held Ziggler into a standing inverted Indian deathlock surfboard position, allowing Chris to attack the back of Ziggler's head with a springboard diving leg drop. The crowd roared once again, while both Guns tried to cover Dolph, but he still managed to kick out at 2 and a half, with the both of them on top.

Looking back to the titantron, another five seconds counted down, and soon enough, Chris Jericho was the next to enter the ring. Dolph was glad that he wasn't the handicapped one in the match anymore, anyway. Jericho stood beside Dolph and stared down the Guns, and then turned to Punk who was in his pod, pointing a threatening finger towards him and then back at the Guns. Puzzled, Punk questioned what he was trying to say, and before anything else could happen, Jericho tackled down Sabin while Ziggler tackled down Shelley, and an all-out brawl began.

Punches and kicks were thrown everywhere, and eventually, Jericho had the upper hand by attacking Sabin with a double underhook, which transitioned into a devastating backbreaker. With him down, the Canadian quickly climbed up the top rope and leapt off with a springboard moonsault, but once Sabin rolled out of the way, Jericho crashed down to the mat, holding his abdomen in pain. Meanwhile, Ziggler and Shelley were still duking it out, with the Detroit native gaining the upper hand over the Florida native by pummeling his head into the mat with multiple push-up facebusters, eliciting cheers from the women in the crowd, due to the near sexual nature of the move.

Jericho had gotten back up after his crash, and quickly dodged a swing from Sabin, and then attacked back by immediately applying the Walls of Jericho to his opponent – or enemy, he should say. Internally, Jericho really was gaining true feelings for Mickie, and was pissed off at Sabin for breaking her heart in the first place, so this was the only way that he could avenge her. The Detroit native's back was killing him, as he screamed and reached out for the nearest rope to grab onto. The Canadian saw the pain on his enemy's face and laughed, crawling them both back to the middle of the ring.

Sabin's hand trembled, threatening to tap out, but once Jericho yelled, "You liked breaking her heart? HUH? She's with ME now!" Sabin knew that he was talking about Mickie, and after hearing that, he managed to roll over onto his back, kick off Jericho, and leapt up before retaliating with a tilt-a-whirl headscissors takedown, sending the Canadian flying to the other side of the ring. Immediately after that, Sabin continued the attack by continuously slamming Jericho's head into the glass pod, before the ref had to pull him back for a moment.

Y2J slumped down and checked his forehead, to make sure that he wasn't bleeding, and when Sabin approached him once again, Jericho got his revenge by leaping into the air and slamming him to the metal ground with a one-handed bulldog. The Detroit native quickly held his head in pain, and lightly touched his forehead to find that he was starting to bleed. Alex noticed this and came to Chris's aid, but he assured him that he'd be fine. But before anything else could be done, five more minutes had passed and the clock was counting down from 5 seconds, allowing CM Punk's pod to open and allowing him to join the fray, to the crowd's delight.

He immediately targeted Jericho and tackled him down with a slur of punches and kicks, before capitalizing with a hammerlock twisted into a short-range lariat. With the Canadian down, he climbed up to the top turnbuckle, raised his arms in the air, and then as his tribute to the Macho Man, leapt off with a diving elbow drop, which connected perfectly. He went for the cover, but before the ref got to three, Dolph stepped in and kicked Punk in the back to stop him.

Pissed, he shot him a look, but then smirked once he saw both Shelley and Sabin stand behind Dolph. The blonde slowly turned around to meet with a superkick from Sabin, followed by a superkick from Shelley, and then a double superkick to the back and chest from the both of them. Punk laughed at this, but once he turned his attentions back to Jericho, who stunned him with a corkscrew, with a running back elbow added to that. Still dizzy, Punk stumbled to his feet and ran for his enemy, as Jericho did the same. Little did they know, they had the same idea in mind and both slammed into one another with diving crossbodies, causing them both to fall to the mat in pain, holding their aching abdomens.

Chris and Alex saw that everyone else was down, so Shelley decided to cover Dolph, as Sabin went to cover Jericho for the pin. Once the ref counted, both heels managed to kick out at two, and the Guns groaned in aggravation. At this point, all of the competitors were already exhausted, and both Punk and Jericho got to their feet and traded punches, trying oh, so desperately to take the other down. Dolph managed to take out Sabin with a fireman's carry gutbuster from the second rope, and as revenge, Shelley took Dolph out with a Sliced Bread #2 from the second rope.

Five minutes later, the clock counted down and the last member of Jericho's team, Batista, was freed from his pod and he was ready to clean house. He obviously had the advantage of coming out last, since he was refreshed while the others were exhausted. First, he targeted the WWE Champion, grabbing him by the neck and screaming, "That title's going to come to ME!" before forcefully slamming him against the steel chains. After that, he caught sight of the Guns as they turned to find him. The muscular Superstar sped towards them, they ducked and tried to attack him back, but it was no use as he double clotheslined them over the ropes and out against the metal flooring.

Single-handingly taking out his opponents, the Animal smirked and flexed his muscles in triumph, while Jericho and Dolph applauded and the crowd sent massive boos his way. After a few moments, Dolph ran back towards Alex, ready to inflict some more pain, before Chris finished him off with a cross-legged Samoan driver, and pinned him for the 3 count, eliminating the bleach blonde first.

The crowd cheered at this, while he looked on in shock, crying, "What? WHAT?"

The ref ushered him out of the Chamber, but instead of heading backstage, Ziggler decided to stick around and watch the action from ringside. Back in the ring, Alex tauntingly waved outside towards Dolph, and didn't see Dave from the opposite side of the ring, in position to attack him next. Sabin had noticed this, though, and wanted to save his partner before it was too late. Once Dave ran to spear Alex, he whipped around and had no time to react once he was shoved out of harm's way by Sabin, and took the devastating spear onto the metal floor instead.

Shelley looked on in shock once Chris was pinned for the three count and eliminated next, and then turned his attentions back to Batista for eliminating his best friend. On the outside of the Chamber, Dolph smirked towards Sabin, but the Detroit native was pissed enough as it was and forcefully punched him across the face, sparking an outside brawl between the two. Meanwhile, both Punk and Jericho were evenly matched, throwing crazy maneuvers each other's way, as Jericho was dead set on winning the WWE title from the Chicago native, while Punk was dead set on defending his title for which he held so long.

Dave and Alex also faced off, with Dave thinking that he'd be able to snap the smaller and younger man below him like a twig, but that thought was quickly dismissed once a vengeful Shelley suddenly attacked with a few quick punches and kicks, followed by a swinging reverse STO, and then held him in a chickenwing over the shoulder crossface, demanding that the muscular Superstar tap out. The crowd urged for him to, and Dave furiously shook his head 'no', but his hand was saying otherwise.

Once Alex tightened his grip, Dave had no choice but to tap, as the crowd cheered and the ref counted him out of the match. Once he was let go, Dave got into a shouting match, crying that he didn't tap, but the audience proved him wrong once they chanted, "YOU TAPPED OUT! YOU TAPPED OUT! YOU TAPPED OUT!"

The referee demanded that Dave leave, and he sent a glare Alex's way before trudging out of the Chamber, leaving Shelley, Punk, and Jericho as the three remaining participants. Shelley and Punk smiled at one another, thinking that they'd have a 2 on 1 advantage over the Canadian that was looking back and forth between the two, deciding who to attack first. Finally, he ran for Shelley, but Punk took Jericho down from behind and the two double teamed Jericho with a few kicks and punches, pretty much sending him into a corner.

The blonde had to fight back, though, and did so by sending punch after punch across both Shelley's and Punk's faces, one after another. Finally once Punk ran for him again, Jericho swung him around and sent him crashing into the glass pod, and then before Shelley could attack, he managed to shove the Detroit native towards Punk, causing them both to crash THROUGH the glass pod.

"OH!" the crowd exclaimed.

Y2J laughed and walked around the ring with one arm raised in the air in triumph, as both Punk and Shelley were writhing in pain. The ref had checked on the both of them, who were slowly getting back up, but outside, Ziggler had tried to distract Alex by lunging towards him, and the Detroit native sent him a look before turning right into a codebreaker, courtesy of Jericho. He went for the pin, gaining the three count and eliminating Shelley next. Punk looked on in defeat, and now it was up to him to win for his team. Not just for him to keep his title, but also to win back the tag titles for the Guns.

He circled around Jericho while he circled around him, and the two grappled once again, trading punches while the crowd alternated between cheers and boos. Finally, Punk seemed to gain his momentum and sent Jericho back towards the ropes with a sitout suplex slam, followed by holding him in the Koji clutch. The Canadian used all he had to power out of the hold and sent Punk back with a springboard shoulder block, followed by a Northern Lights suplex. He went for the cover, but Punk kicked out at two and a half. Both athletes needed a few moments to recover and gain their composures, and when they slowly made it up to their feet, Punk surprised Jericho by lifting him over his shoulders, preparing for the GTS, but before he could, Chris managed to counter out of it, land back on his feet, and surprise Punk with a blinding codebreaker. He quickly went for the cover as the ref counted, "1…2…3!"

The crowd roared in disapproval, once Jericho sat up in wide-eyed shock and looked around, not even believing that he'd actually won! Punk, on the other hand was still disorientated and wasn't aware that he'd lost the title that he'd been carrying for months now, and on the outside of the ring, Dolph and Dave cheered in triumph and helped Jericho out of the Chamber, as Lillian announced, "Here are your winners, STILL the WWE tag team champions, Dolph Ziggler and Batista, and the **NEW** WWE Champion, Chris Jericho!"

The boos continued, as the ref handed Jericho the title and he proudly raised it into the air for all to see, while Ziggler and Dave held up their tag titles at the same time. While they headed up the ring, the Guns were bummed that they'd failed to recapture the titles, but were more bummed for Punk, who was still confused about everything that was going on. Chris and Alex climbed into the ring to help out their friend, while at the top of the ramp, Jericho yelled to a cameraman, "I'M THE BEST IN THE WORLD!"

Oh, let the bragging rights begin.


	46. Chapter 46

**_AN: Ok, I know I said that I'd also upload two chapters today too, but I just realized that the cliffhanger that I wanted to leave is in this chapter, so the next update will be on Monday. :)_**

* * *

**Chapter 46**

After the match, Alex, Chris, and Punk unhappily arrived backstage, where AJ was waiting for them. "Oh, guys, I'm so sorry." the tiny Diva said, wrapping her arms around Alex in a hug.

He tightened his grip around her waist and kissed the top of her head. "Talk about a rough match, I'm so sore." he replied. "Sorry we let you down, babe."

"Oh no, you guys gave it your all, so win or lose, I'm still proud of you three." she replied. "So how you guys holding up?"

Chris held the sore spot on his head from where he was bleeding earlier. "Ah, I've seen better nights, sis. Hey, you know where Velvet went?"

"She headed to the ladies room for a sec, she'll be right back."

"This is my fault." Punk sighed, taking a seat over a crate. "It's all my fault."

"Punk—dude, stop." the Guns replied at once.

"No, don't try and make me feel less guilty because I am. It's bad enough that I lost my title that I've held since last November, but I failed at the chance of getting your tag titles back. I screwed up, guys, and I'm sorry. I can't believe I let Jericho of all people beat me." the tattooed Superstar replied, shaking his head.

"Dude, yeah, we may have had a bad night, but it's not the end of the world." replied Alex. "It's not your fault that we didn't win back the titles, you busted your ass off like the two of us did, so that's what really matters."

"Exactly. The only three you need to blame are Jericho, Ziggler, and Dave, because they're total douchebags." agreed Chris.

He chuckled. "This is still gonna hurt me for some time. Gonna feel strange waking up and not being able to carry the title around everywhere with me anymore."

AJ gave him a hug and replied, "It'll be all right, dude, you can just compete against Jericho for the title again using your rematch clause, remember? You still have another chance."

He brightened up. "Oh yeah, I totally forgot about that. Yeah, I'll just kick his ass and gain my golden baby back once again, woo hoo! Thanks, AJ, thanks, guys, I'll see you later, gotta shower up and then meet with Britani." he smiled, rushing off.

The three chuckled. "Wow, mood swings, much?" laughed Chris.

"I know, right? So Sab, you sure you're feeling all right? You took a lot of abuse in that chamber and I just hope you didn't bleed too much." replied Alex.

"Nah, I'll live, just got bumped around a little. I'm gonna get a drink, you guys want anything?" he asked.

"Nope—no, we're good."

"K, meet you guys outside."

After he headed off, Alex and AJ shared another kiss when he told her, "Well, I was planning on stepping in a nice, hot shower to soothe my tired and aching muscles. Would you care to join me so we can, y'know, give each other those massages that we enjoy so much?" he asked with lust in his voice.

"Mmm, how could I refuse an offer like that?" the tiny Diva smiled, trailing a finger down his chest. "A chance to see that chiseled body of yours in the nude? Glistening wet? I am so there."

He chuckled. "I was just about to say the exact same thing to you, babe." Shelley replied before he spanked her. "Race ya there." he cried before he ran off.

"HEY! Alex!" she exclaimed, chasing after him.

* * *

Meanwhile, Chris was roaming the halls, looking all over for Velvet, but he still wasn't feeling so great from the match.

"Oh, man. I know I didn't lose that much blood." he groaned, taking a seat against the wall and holding his head. He didn't see when Mickie strolled by, looking for Jericho. "Chris?" she cried, surprised.

He looked up. "Mickie, hey, what's going on?"

"I was just heading off to find someone."

"Jericho?" he asked with scorn in his voice.

"Yeah. I saw the match, and I'm really sorry that you guys didn't win back the titles. Are you ok?" she asked, genuinely concerned.

"If you mean that if I'm ok with not winning, then yeah. But if you mean that if I'm ok seeing you with someone like him, then no." Sabin replied, looking up at her.

She sighed. "Chris, how do you think I feel when I see you all over Velvet?" she asked.

And after that, there was a silent pause between the two as they looked at one another.

"Mickie, we can't be doing this. You hate Velvet, I can't stand Jericho, and yet you and I can't be together because I still love Velvet." he explained. "So do you love him?"

She looked around and shrugged. "I don't know, I mean, we just started dating, and…I just don't know." Then, she noticed the bruise on his forehead. "Oh my God, Chris, how bad were you bleeding before?"

"Ah, I just took a bad fall onto the metal, I'll be ok." he nodded.

"But still, you can't be too careful. Let me see." the Country Diva said, carefully placing an ice pack over his wound.

Meanwhile, being this close to Mickie once again made him smile at the fact that she was really concerned for him. He _was _still mad at her for what she told Velvet back at the restaurant the other evening, but he really couldn't just stay mad at her forever. Hell, he was still madly in love with her.

"Feel better?" she asked.

He smiled up at her. "Much, actually. Thanks, Doc."

She grinned down at him and looked him in the eyes. "No problem. Even if we aren't on the same page relationship-wise, I still count on being your friend, and if you ever need me…"

"You'll be the first one I'll come to. And if Jericho's ever giving you a hard time, you know where to find me, too."

"Done deal." the Diva agreed. But once they sat there in a comfortable silence, enjoying each other's presence, Velvet strolled by and caught the scene. "Uh, what's going on here?"

Their heads shot up and they quickly stood up.

"Oh hey, baby, I was looking all over for you." Chris replied, giving her a kiss.

"I uh, just noticed the wound on his head and wanted to help." Mickie explained, not making any eye contact with the blonde.

She glared at her. "Thanks, but I can take it from here."

Mickie nodded and began to walk away, but not without saying, "You know, Velvet, Chris is still my friend and I have a right to take care of him."

After she turned away, Sabin looked in her direction and couldn't take his eyes off of the Diva, but Velvet turned his head so that his eyes met hers. "Chris, let me take care of that wound and then you and I can meet up with the others. Ok? You've been through a lot and you need to get your rest."

"Ok, babe, let's go." he agreed, leading her away.

* * *

The next day, the Raw crew headed towards downtown New Jersey for their next set of shows, and while they were there, AJ got a call from her mother, inviting her and Alex over to their place. That afternoon, the two were already on their way to her parents' residence.

"It was sure nice of them to call us over since I can barely ever visit during my busy schedule. Don't you think, Shells?" she asked, sticking her hand out of the window as they drove.

"It is nice of them, but I…nah, forget it."

"No, what's up?" she asked.

"It's just…I dunno, maybe it's just me, but I don't think that your pop likes me." Alex replied, one hand casually steering the car.

"Alex, he's over that incident where you almost flooded and set fire to the place last Christmas eve." she tried to reason with him.

"I don't know, babe, I think it's more than that." he replied. "I just can't really explain what, though."

"But what's not to like about you?" the Diva asked, turning to him. "You're funny, sweet, polite, awesome, need I go on?"

He smiled at her and gave her a quick kiss. "I love that you think that about me, but I don't think that he does."

"Babe…" she began, while he stopped the car in front of the house. "See, we're here now and I'm sure that you're just worrying for nothing. Let's go."

"Ah, I hope you're right, or else this will be a very awkward visit for me." he sighed, taking her hand once they approached the front door. Once she rung the bell, her mother, a brunette who looked pretty young for her age and was just a bit taller than AJ, opened the door with a smile. "April, _mija!_" she exclaimed, wrapping her in a tight hug. "Come in, come in!"

"Mommy!" she exclaimed, smiling back. "Oh, how have you been? If our schedule wasn't so busy, I'd come over more often!"

"Things have been fine, but they're better now that my little girl and her boyfriend are here, hello, Alex!" she greeted, giving him a hug.

He smiled. "Hey, nice to see you again, ma'am."

"Please, Alex! I told you to call me Lisa! Makes me sound younger." she replied with a smirk.

"Well, Lisa, you're already young, so there's no need to worry. Besides, it's easy to see where April got her beauty from."

Lisa turned to AJ and told her, "Excellent choice, _mija._"

They all laughed.

"Oh, I know I've made an excellent choice." she smiled, grabbing his arm.

Next, AJ's father, a middle-aged man with a nice head of hair for his age and a tall-ish stature, came downstairs and smiled upon seeing his daughter. "April, glad to see you back home where you belong, _mija."_

She grinned and hugged him. "I'm glad to be back here. You remember Alex, don't you?"

Alex gave him a nervous smile and held out his hand to shake. "Nice to see you again, sir."

The smile he had on just a few seconds ago faded immediately and he reluctantly and slowly shook his hand, not saying a word.

Alex, on the other hand, stuck his hands in his pockets and looked down at the floor.

"Well come on, everyone, let's head into the living room. I just ordered us a pizza and he should be here any minute now." announced Lisa.

"Yum!—Sounds great." the couple said at once, but once they headed into the next room, Alex caught AJ's father sending him a look, a scornful one at that, once he nearly shoved past him and entered the room first.

Stunned, the Detroit native just stood there and refused to take his eyes off of him, when AJ noticed his expression. "Alex? Everything ok?"

He shook it off. "Yeah, yeah, everything's fine. C'mon." he smiled, wrapping an arm around her waist.

Later, the four of them were settled in the living room and watching TV, with Lisa sitting on one end of the couch, Alex and AJ in the middle, and AJ's father, Antonio, sitting on the other side of the room, not taking his eyes off of Alex the entire time.

Shelley felt a pair of eyes piercing into him, and couldn't focus on what he was watching, so he slightly turned to face Antonio to see him send his glance back towards the television. _"Weird…"_ Alex thought to himself.

Soon enough, the doorbell rang. "Oh good, the pizza's here. Be right back!" exclaimed Lisa.

"K, make sure he got the order right since he failed at it the last time!" AJ called.

Meanwhile, Alex noticed a large book on the side table and asked, "Hey, what's in this book here?"

"Oh that's our photo album, you want to see?"

"Sure! I—I mean, if it's ok." he quickly turned to Antonio.

He shrugged in reply.

"Awesome, check it out!" she smiled, flipping from page to page. "And for the record, I'm skipping past the embarrassing photos because…well, just because."

"What? Embarrassing? These look like normal childhood photos and you look adorable!" he exclaimed, smiling. "Now if you want to talk about embarrassing, check out my photo album back at my folks' place."

"Oh really? How could anything about you be embarrassing?"

"Trust me, there was once a time where I rolled down 17 hills at a golf course, and instead of helping me, my folks laughed and took pictures." he announced with a small smile.

She couldn't help but to giggle.

"It's not funny." he pouted.

"Aw, I'm sorry, sorry. So is that why you hate golf so much?"

"Yeah, that and the fact that I nearly got a concussion and got ran over by a runaway golf cart all in the same day." he replied, looking through the album. "But enough about me and my adventures…hey, who's that?" he asked, pointing to a boy in a picture, who was playfully holding a younger AJ in a headlock.

"Oh, that's my brother Cristian." she replied, looking along at the picture and smiling at the memory.

"Wow, I didn't know you had a brother." Alex turned to her.

"Well, he's in the military now, so that's why you never had a chance to meet him." she replied, taking his hand. "I worry about him being out there every day. I miss him so much."

He combed back her hair and replied, "Hey, I'm sure he'll come back during the holidays, right? I'd be happy to meet him."

"Oh he'd love you! He's a huge wrestling fanatic and he actually has a lot in common with you." she smiled.

"You mean, he loves wrestling, video games and everything about Japan?" he exclaimed, lighting up.

She laughed. "Yes!"

"Yeah, he'd be like, my new best friend – well, along with you, Chris, and Mickie, of course." he smiled.

"Well, that's it, as soon as he comes back home, I am totally introducing you two." AJ announced, before giving him a kiss. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

Antonio, in his corner, angrily gripped the newspaper that he was holding upon seeing the kiss.

"Ok, guys, pizza's here and it's actually done right!" Lisa announced.

"Yay, munchies!" AJ exclaimed.

"Thanks, Lisa." Alex smiled.

"No problem, Alex." Lisa replied, before turning back to her husband. "Antonio, don't you want a slice?"

He shook his head. "Save me one for later, I'll have it then." he nearly mumbled. Then, as he saw AJ and Alex sharing a slice and laughing the whole time, his eyes narrowed and he slammed down his newspaper, trying to re-focus once again on the TV.

Later…

"Oh, while I'm here, I better grab my extra set of comics to take with us on the road." AJ announced.

"Oh, don't lift a finger, I'll get em for you. Where are they?" asked Alex.

"Aw, thanks, Shells, you're the best. They're in my old room, right on my shelf, can't miss em."

He gave her another kiss. "All righty then, be right back."

The tiny Diva smiled and watched him head off before asking her father, "Isn't he a doll?"

Antonio tried to shove his feelings aside and replied, "Oh, he's something, all right. I'll be back, _mija_, I have to go water the flowers outside."

"But it looks like it's going to pour down any second now."

"It doesn't matter, I have to go and check anyway." he said rather quickly, heading out of the room.

Upstairs, Alex had found AJ's room and searched for her comics, picking them up off of her table. "Wow, Green Lantern, X-Men, these are vintage!" he said, looking through them. "Ah, my girl's so awesome."

"I really don't think you should be here in my daughter's room to begin with." Antonio's voice said from the doorway.

He whipped around. "Sir! Oh uh, I didn't know. April just wanted her comics, so I just wanted to come up here and grab em for her. I hope you don't mind." he said nervously.

"No, as a matter of fact, I do mind. I just came up here to tell you one important thing."

"Sure, what's going on?" he asked.

He stepped up to him so that they were only a few inches apart, looked him square in the eye, and replied, "I don't want you seeing my daughter anymore."

He blinked for a moment before his eyes widened. "…What?" he uttered, not hearing him right. He didn't just say what he think he just said, did he?

* * *

**_AN: Why does AJ's father not want Alex to see AJ anymore? You'll never believe the reason._**


	47. Chapter 47

**Chapter 47**

"Excuse me?" Alex asked Antonio, shocked at what he had just heard.

"You heard me. I don't want you seeing my daughter anymore. In fact, I want you to break up with her this instant." he announced.

"Wait, whoa, whoa, whoa. Where is all this coming from, sir?" he asked.

"Don't question me. Look, the first time we let you into this house, you nearly destroy it. This time, you act like you own the place, which you clearly do not."

Alex raised an eyebrow. "Sir, the first time I came over, I was just trying to make a good impression and everything that happened was a total accident, I swear! I apologized for it a million times and I even helped pay for the damages! And how am I acting like I own this place? I'm just visiting as a guest, I would never try and take advantage of anyone here."

"But you have absolutely no right calling my wife by her first name!" he snapped.

"She wanted for me to call her Lisa, SHE insisted!" he argued back.

"And how dare you snoop through our photo album? That album is a record of our family memories and you are NOT a part of this family by any means." Antonio continued, pointing a finger at him.

There was no doubt that this was hurting Shelley, but he replied, "I didn't know it was so special to you, sir, and I'm sorry. I won't so much as look at anything here anymore, ok?"

"Sorry's not good enough. I don't want you being around April anymore, and that is final."

"But why, sir? Did I do something wrong that I'm not even aware of?" he demanded. "With all due respect, you don't even know me and you haven't even tried to get to know me! Ever since I got here, all you've been doing is giving me these strange looks, like I've done something terrible! You don't know me at all."

"I don't intend on getting to know you, because after today, we will never see you in this house again. You see, I've come from a pretty traditional background and I follow certain rules that are morally right. I only want the best for my daughter, and the best would be for you to stay away from her." he explained, pacing the room back and forth.

"You still never answered my question. Why? What, do you think I'm some kind of criminal or something, because I'm not!" he exclaimed.

"Even if you were or weren't, that's not the issue. I want April to be with one of her own kind. I want her with someone who's Spanish – Puerto Rican, to be exact." he announced.

Alex couldn't believe what the hell he was hearing, and just stood there in wide-eyed shock. What he didn't see was an equally shocked AJ standing in the doorway, overhearing the entire conversation.

"…Dad? Why are you saying all this?" she asked, causing the two to turn around and see her.

"_Mija_, you can't seriously want to be with this guy, do you?"

"What? Of course I do, he's my boyfriend and I love him to death!" she cried.

"See, that is terrible to hear. You deserve someone better, someone of your own kind. I know that you've made some less-than smart decisions before, like for instance, becoming a wrestler."

Her expression told it all. "How could you say such a thing? I told you that becoming a wrestler was my lifelong dream!"

"You could've done so much more with your life and you waste it by sacrificing your body every day and night?" he asked back. "And aside from that, the guys you've brung home to us are totally out of your league!"

"I've only dated one other guy before Alex, and you were part of the reason why he broke up with me." she replied, crossing her arms. "You practically chased him away."

"Good! I'm glad! He was no good for you, anyway!"

"No, that's not the real reason. The real reason was because he wasn't Spanish. Right?"

"Exactly. I thought you would've learned something, but you obviously haven't once you bring this guy here!" he snapped.

"Well, you are NOT going to chase away Alex like you're probably planning to, you can be damn sure of that." she said darkly.

"Hey! You watch your tone, young lady, this is my house and I can get rid of this lowlife here in a heartbeat!" cried Antonio.

Alex had heard enough. "Excuse me, _sir_, but what you're saying is ignorant and-and totally uncalled for! How dare you speak to her that way? I think that she's old enough to make her own decisions."

"You just shut up! You're nothing but a low-class punk and April deserves better than you!"

"Hey, you don't have the right to speak to Alex that way! You don't even know what the hell you're talking about, you barely know him!" AJ snapped.

"Well, you know what? I demand that you find a better guy, before I'll be forced to choose one for you." he announced. "Either way, this boy will never be stepping foot into this house again!"

Tears sprung into her eyes once she grabbed Alex's hand. "I've heard enough. Alex, we're leaving." she said hastily, practically dragging him out of the room and downstairs.

Seeing the two rushing out of the house, Lisa asked, "Whoa, whoa, what's the problem, you guys?"

"Your husband's the problem." she announced darkly, before stopping to give her a hug and kiss on the cheek. "We can't stay, gotta go. I love you."

Alex flashed her a smile and gave her a hug. "See you later, Lisa, thanks for everything." he replied, before the two left.

Totally confused about what was going on, she looked upstairs to find Antonio coming downstairs with a smug look on his face.

"Antonio, what the hell did you say up there to upset her like that?" she demanded.

"I just told April the truth. She's made too many mistakes already and I'm just doing what I can to fix them. Starting with that punk boyfriend of hers." he smiled.


	48. Chapter 48

**_AN: I may post two chapters every day this week, instead of one. But it's not a permanent thing just yet._**

* * *

**Chapter 48**

That evening, the gang met up at the nearest arena for the next installment of Raw…

Despite the showdown that happened at her parents' house just a few hours ago, AJ decided that she had to shake it off and focus on that night. Alex, on the other hand, was pissed off. Chris wondered what was up with him, and Velvet, well, she once again tried to rile him up with a few joke-insults, but Shelley had too much going on in his head to care what she had to say about him. Now, both AJ and Mickie were in another tag match against Kelly Kelly and Alicia Fox.

The match was just beginning to wind up, as Kelly attempted – well, tried to attempt a bulldog on Mickie, but the Country Diva countered and attacked the blonde with a rope-aided twisting hurricanrana, taking her down. She went for the pin, but Kelly kicked out at two and a half. AJ was ready and willing to tag in, but once she turned to look towards the ramp, she was surprised to find Alberto Del Rio stopping there to apparently watch the match.

_"What the hell is he doing here?_" she asked herself, but then shook it off once she turned back to the match. Kelly was too weak to try and finish the match, so she crawled over and tagged in Alicia, who surprised Mickie with a bicycle kick. She went for the cover, but the Country Diva kicked out at two. After a few more punches and kicks, Mickie countered with a Thesz press, followed by multiple punches. With the Foxy Diva off of her back, she turned to AJ, who was still looking towards Del Rio, sending a wink her way. "AJ!" Mickie called, snapping her out of her little trance.

"Oh!" she turned back to her partner, tagging in and leaping into the ring to tackle Alicia down with a spinning heel kick, followed by a shining wizard. Instead of pinning her, though, she tagged Mickie back in for once of their double-team finishing maneuvers. Mickie soon attacked the Foxy Diva with a falling neckbreaker, AJ looked back one last time at Alberto before then climbing up to the top turnbuckle and landing on the Diva with a diving crossbody, pinning her for the three count.

The crowd roared for their two favorites as Lillian announced, "Here are your winners, the WWE Diva's tag team champions, AJ and Mickie James!"

The two grabbed their titles and held each other's arms up in victory, before Mickie whispered, "Hey, what's gotten into you?"

April turned back to the ramp to find Del Rio suddenly gone, and she replied, "…Nothing."

Later, the two headed backstage…

"Hey, babe, great job out there," Alex began, giving AJ a kiss. "But…"

"But what?"

"I dunno, you just seemed a little…off out there. Everything ok?"

"I dunno." she repeated. "For some reason, Del Rio was out there watching the match and he wouldn't take his eyes off of me. In fact, he kept winking at me for some reason." she explained, while his expression stiffened.

"Where is he?" he asked.

"Alex, no, don't!" she stopped him. "It's probably not even a big deal, so it's ok."

"It's not ok if this guy's looking at you all funny."

"Alex please, just give it a rest, ok, sweetie?" she kissed him. "We have enough to deal with as it is."

"Yeah, I know." he agreed quietly.

"Guys, what is up with the two of you?" Chris spoke up. "Ever since earlier, you two've been in a really pissed off mood. Did something happen that we could help you with?"

"Yeah, did something happen at your folks' house, AJ?" asked Velvet, sitting on his lap.

Alex and AJ looked at one another before she replied, "No, guys, it was nothing, trust us. Just had a little car trouble on the way there."

Chris raised an eyebrow. "Car trouble? You expect us to believe that excuse?"

"Look, believe what you want to believe, but that's what happened!" she exclaimed, a little angry. "And—and where the hell did Mickie go again?"

"She always seems to be running off after a match instead of meeting up with her friends. Guess she doesn't want to be in the group anymore or something." Velvet suggested.

"Oh, stop it, Creature, Mickie can do whatever the hell she wants to do, and we don't have to stop her, all right?" replied Alex.

"He has a point, babe. She's made her decision on who she wants to be with, so who are we to stop her?" agreed Chris.

"So…you guys are talking about me behind my back now?" Mickie asked, standing in the doorway.

They all turned to face her.

"Maybe." Velvet announced with a smirk.

"Nobody asked you, Cripple." she spat back.

"No, Mickie, we were not talking about you behind your back." replied AJ.

"I most certainly hope not. So girlie, what was going on with you during our match? You seemed distracted."

"Del Rio was standing up at the ramp and watching me the whole time, so he was the distraction." replied the tiny Diva.

"Del Rio? He was the one who gave you and Kaitlyn that $5000 the other night, wasn't he?"

"Yep, same guy. This is all so strange."

"And that's why I want to have a word with him." Alex replied.

"Let's just not worry about him for now, Alex. He hasn't hurt me in any way, and if it gets to the point where he does, then I'll call on you to kick his ass for me." she flashed him a smile. "Now Mickie, where were you, I was going to ask if you wanted to hang out with us after the show."

Velvet tightened her grip around Chris while he glanced at the brunette and replied, "She can't, AJ, we're not good enough for the likes of her anymore."

Mickie raised an eyebrow and gave him a look.

He gave her a look in return.

Velvet smiled the entire time, before Mickie replied, "No, I can't because I feel that I'm still being stabbed in the back by people that I used to think of as friends. Besides, I'm hanging out with Jericho tonight."

"Yeah, Jericho, the bedazzled David Lee Roth wannabe who cares more about his own image than he does about you, so that works out, doesn't it?" Sabin replied bitterly. "Who's he gonna have sex with tonight, you or his new WWE title?"

She growled. "Who are you gonna have sex with tonight, Velvet or the nearest prostitute hanging out on the street corner? Same thing either way, they're both probably carrying some type of yeast infection."

"You BITCH!" Velvet screeched, leaping up to attack Mickie, when Chris held her back. "Let me at her!"

"I will beat you DOWN, bitch!" Mickie yelled back, while Alex and AJ had to hold her back.

Before a shouting match could begin, Chris Jericho strolled down, searching for Mickie, until he came across the scene in the Guns locker room.

"Hey, HEY!" he exclaimed, trying to split them up. "What the hell's going on in here?"

Alex held up both of his hands and announced, "I had nothing to do with any of this."

"I think you better take your new girlfriend out of here before she says something that she's going to regret." Sabin replied, still trying to hold Velvet back.

"Oh, he doesn't have to take me out, I can do that myself. Alex, AJ, I will see you two around, and as for you two," Mickie turned to Chris and a fuming Velvet. "Have a nice life together. Let's go, Chris." she told Y2J.

He turned to the two and flashed them a triumphant smirk, saying, "Words hurt, you guys. Mickie doesn't deserve whatever the hell you're putting her through, so now that she's with her true Savior, don't count on her ever coming back to you again. Ciao. "

Once he left, Velvet was left breathing heavily while Chris combed back her hair and asked, "Hey, babe, you ok?"

"Now that she's gone, yeah. What did you ever see in her to begin with, Chris?"

He sighed. "Everything. But now she's changed, I've changed and…I never thought we'd ever be screaming at each other this way."

"Well, the nightmare's over, baby. Because now you have me." the Knockout smiled, giving him a kiss.

Alex rolled his eyes. "Gag me. C'mon, April, let's grab a couple of drinks for the road. As for you, Chris, whenever you come to your senses and drop your little pet here, you know where to find us." he smirked.

Chris smirked back and playfully gave him the finger. "Shut up, Alex." he chuckled.

* * *

Once the two turned into the hall, AJ asked, "Well, looks like things are getting worse and worse for the four of us. I'm pissed off at my father, I'm sure you're just as pissed off and you should be—"

"I am pissed off." he agreed.

"And now there's this whole mess with Chris, Mickie, and Velvet. And to think that this could've all been avoided if Velvet hadn't even come here in the first place."

"I knew she was trouble, but not this much. But babe? You sure you didn't want to tell the others about what went down earlier at your folks' house?"

"I figured that it was just our problem, so we should've just kept it between us. I didn't want to unload any more stress over Chris." replied the Diva.

Alex smiled at her and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "Let's just not worry about it for now. I still think that your mom's awesome!"

She giggled. "She really is! At least she appreciates you, so that's what really matters. Now, you want to—" she paused once Del Rio turned the corner and headed their way. She saw that Alex had stiffened up, and she had to hold his arm to keep him still. "Alex, don't."

"Ay, mamacita!" the Mexican exclaimed. "What an excellent job you've done in your match tonight! In fact, you are one of the most gifted Divas here, if not the most beautiful."

"Uh...thank you." she replied slowly. "So why were you winking at me so much and staring at me during the match?"

"I'd like to know the answer to that, too." agreed Alex.

"What, I cannot admire the athleticism of a small little cutie like you? And I'm rooting for you to win at the next PPV, by the way."

She raised an eyebrow. "Wait, what? What's happening at the next PPV?"

"Oh, haven't you heard? Well, I guess you haven't, because I've overheard Mr. Laurinitis talking about Money in the Bank, and how he was thinking of creating the first ever Diva's Money in the Bank Ladder match." he announced.

Her eyes widened. "Seriously?"

"That's right. Nothing's confirmed yet, but that's exactly what he's planning on doing, and I, for one, am hoping that you will create history and become the first ever Diva's Money in the Bank winner, and eventually become champion." he winked at her once more.

"Oh, my God, that's probably the best news I've gotten all day." she smiled, turning to Alex.

"Glad that I was the one who told you. Now, I have other matters to attend to. Have a great evening, beautiful." he replied, but before he left, he looked Alex down, chuckled, and then went off on his merry way.

He grumbled. "…Wow, what the hell is everyone's deal with me today?" he asked, annoyed.

"Ignore him, Shells, we have got to start training for the MITB match as soon as possible!" she exclaimed.

"I hope you don't mean now, it's like 9:30 pm and I'd like to sleep off this long and stressful day first." he complained as they headed off.

* * *

Meanwhile, Jericho had taken Mickie back to his locker room after what just went down…

She sniffled. "I can't believe they'd do this to me…"

He placed his WWE title down and sat next to her, placing an arm around her shoulders. "Babe, you don't need them anymore, all they do is hurt you and you deserve better." he replied. "Mickie, you're amazing, and the one thing I've always admired about you was your strength and courage. You're a beautiful, strong young woman, and I hate seeing you so broken up."

The Diva looked up at him and then leaned into his chest, allowing him to wrap his arms around her. "You're the only one that I have left, Chris. I mean, I know that Alex and AJ will always be there for me, and I love them for it, but as long as they're hanging out with the couple from Hell, I just can't talk to them as much. You've been there for me every step of the way and I'm really glad that we're together now."

He smiled and kissed the top of her head. "And I always will be here for you, don't you forget it. Besides, I didn't just win this title last night for me, I won it for you, too. I dedicated the match to you and here's the end result." he replied, gesturing to his title. "I've got the Gold, and the most beautiful girl here, so I'm truly the lucky one."

The Diva smiled and reached up to wrap him in a passionate kiss. "I'm lucky to have you. Hey, you have anything else to do in the show tonight?"

"Nope, my match is already won and finished with, and Punk's crying his eyes out about how badly he wants this title back, but he's going to have to pry it off of my dead body first." he replied with a smirk.

"Oh no, speak of the Devil." Mickie announced, seeing Punk walk by the door. She quickly hid under the bench.

"What's wrong?" questioned the Canadian.

"Punk can't see me in here, and he sure as hell can't see us together!" she exclaimed. "I mean, his girlfriend Britani knows that we are, but I don't know if she told him, and Punk's a really close friend of mine, and I just can't let him catch me in here!" she babbled quickly.

"All right, all right, he's coming in now, so just hide in the locker until he leaves, hurry!"

She did what she was told and climbed into the largest locker in the room, closing the door while Punk entered. "You." he uttered.

"What the hell do you want, Phil? If you forgot to read the name plate on the door, it says that this is my locker room."

"I know, but I just wanted to tell you that even though you won that title from me, don't intend on keeping it for as long as I did. I had a sweet record going and you ruined it." the tattooed man replied.

"What does this have to do with anything?" he asked flatly.

"Let me finish and I'll tell ya. Now I remember a couple of weeks ago, you telling—no, threatening that if you'd take the title, then you'd go after Britani. I'm just here to remind you that if you even think of lying a hand on my girl, I won't hesitate to kick your ass. Understand me?"

The Canadian chuckled. "Dude, I was just trying to scare you, I don't want your girlfriend."

He looked puzzled. "You don't?"

"No! I already have someone special in my life and I have your title. That's all I'd ever need." Jericho replied.

"Whatever. As long as you stay away from my girl, we won't have a problem. But trust me, I won't stop bugging you until I get my rematch for that." Punk finished, pointing at the title. "Later."

"_Arrivederci._" the blonde dismissed him in Italian, saluting towards him. Once he made sure that he left, he rushed to the locker to free Mickie. "Hey babe, you ok in there?"

After he opened the door, she yelped as she fell out and landed in his arms.

"Haha, see, you're a catch." he smirked.

She laughed and playfully smacked his chest before replying, "That's so cheesy."

"I really don't care because I have a beautiful woman in the arms of a Sexy Beast."

"You are a Sexy Beast." she muttered, leaning in for a kiss.

"Am I?" he muttered back.

"Damn right you are." she finished before they crashed into an intimate liplock, her arms wrapping around his neck to pull her closer to him as his hands gripped more tightly around her waist.

"Hey, what do you say we get outta here?" he asked, breaking away.

"Well, we better hurry before anyone else catches us." she smirked, once they rushed to grab their things and rushed out of the room.


	49. Chapter 49

**Chapter 49**

The next morning, Alex tossed and turned in bed, not because he was having any type of nightmare, but because he could tell that his arms weren't wrapped around AJ. Finally stirring awake, he muttered, "April? Babe? You here?"

Puzzled, he quickly leapt out of bed and hurried into the living room of the hotel suite. "April—" he paused, finding her quietly crying and sitting in the corner of the room. His expression turned to concern, and he rushed to her. "Hey. Baby, what's wrong?"

She sniffled. "I-I can't stop thinking about yesterday and what my father said about you. It's not fair at all, he knows absolutely nothing about you, and yet he thinks that he has the right to just judge you like that? He wants me dating one of my own kind, do you believe that crap?" she demanded.

Alex kissed the top of her head and wiped away her tears. "No, I can't. I'll be honest, after what he said…I don't think I've ever been more insulted in my life."

"Oh, Alex…" she sighed, wrapping her arms around him. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"No, you don't have to apologize for him, he should be man enough to do it himself." he replied, running his fingers through her hair. "So uh, this isn't the first time that he's chased away someone you liked, huh?"

"Nope. Actually, the last guy I dated is a close friend of yours." she revealed.

"Really? Who?"

"Jay Lethal." she replied, to his surprise.

"No kidding? He never told me that he had you as a girlfriend."

"Well, he really couldn't because we weren't even together for that long. And once I brung him home, you can imagine how angry my father got." the Diva replied. "Names were called, and uh...it got so bad that we just couldn't see each other anymore."

He shook his head. "Wow. But what I don't get is why he has such a bad attitude. I mean, it's 2012 now, millions of people with different backgrounds are dating! Why is it such a crime to him?" he demanded.

"I ask that question every day, Shells. Yeah, I'm Puerto Rican and you're white, so what? All that matters is that we love each other, so I don't get what the hell his problem is! If he wants me to be so happy, then he needs to know that I'm happy with you and I always will be. And the thing is, my biggest fear will be that if we ever go back there and he says those things to you again, you'll…you'll just get so fed up with it and decide that I'm not worth it anymore and you'll leave me, too." her voice broke.

"Hey, babe, now that's where you're wrong. He can say whatever the hell he wants to me, but the one thing I will never do is leave you. You are worth everything in the world to me, and he'd have to kill me first before he ever tries to pry me away from you, beautiful." Shelley replied, tilting her head so that her gaze met his.

The tiny Diva smiled and wrapped him in an immensely passionate kiss. "I knew there was a reason why I love you so much."

He chuckled and kissed her again. "Of course! Not only am I the sexiest of the sexy, but I can be a softie on the inside, too."

And while they resumed kissing, they broke away once they heard the sound of the door opening and Chris and Velvet joining them.

"Hey guys—guys?" Chris paused, surprised to see the two in the corner of the room. "Is everything all right?"

"Why are you two on the floor?" asked Velvet.

AJ sniffled and wiped away the last of her tears. "Oh, hey guys. We uh, just wanted to look out at the beautiful morning sky, that's all." she lied.

"From on the floor?" questioned the blonde.

"Yes, ON THE FLOOR, Drama Queen, listen the first time!" Alex replied, sending a glare her way.

"Well, what the hell's biting you, PEON?" she snapped back.

"What the hell's a peon?" Chris asked with a light chuckle.

"I dunno, heard it on TV somewhere." Velvet smiled.

"Ok. So sis, are you sure everything's ok?" he asked AJ.

She smiled and nodded while Alex helped her up. "Yeah. So what's up?"

"Well, we were thinking of heading to IHOP for breakfast. You two want to join us?"

"Oh yay, pancakes, I love pancakes!" the tiny Diva exclaimed, jumping up and down.

Alex laughed. "Sounds good! Give us about 30 minutes and we'll be ready to go."

"30 minutes?" cried Velvet.

"Alex needs the extra time to make sure that he looks perfect." clarified AJ.

"Ah, it figures. Alex might as well be the girlfriend in the relationship if that's what it's come to. By the way, don't you have a manicure appointment this afternoon, Alexandra?" the blonde continued to piss him off.

Meanwhile, Shelley was one pissed off Gun. "Ok, you know what, you blonde nightmare, why don't you go and roam around the backyard, that's what the buffalos do, don't they?"

"OH! You little—COME HERE!" she snapped, first swinging her cane at him and then chasing him into the other room while Chris and AJ were left laughing.

"Are you gonna just let him talk about your girlfriend that way?" April asked.

"Ah, don't worry, I'll just pour whipped cream into his boxers while he's sleeping like I did the last time." Chris smiled.

"You guys are so mean to one another." she giggled. "I uh, just wish that Mickie were here, too. We all used to have so much fun together."

He shrugged. "Yeah, we did, but what's done is done and she'll probably never want to speak to me again. But hell, how can I blame her? I mean, that shouting match in the locker room got pretty nasty and I don't know what would've happened if Jericho hadn't come and taken her out. Still can't believe she's with him."

The Diva turned to him. "Well, you shouldn't have told her what you told her last night."

"I couldn't help it, AJ, I was mad! Plus, the way she's been talking about Velvet lately has been totally over the line and I'm just sick of it all."

"But you're still in love with her, right?"

The Detroit native chuckled bitterly. "That's the screwed up part of it. I don't think that I can ever not love her, no matter what she says or does."

"And you know what? The fact that you're so concerned about her seeing Jericho just proves that you care about her more than you think you do." AJ replied, smiling. "And the only reason why I'm bugging you so much about this is because I'm still rallying for you and Mickie to get back together."

"Well, little sis, I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but that's not going to happen anytime soon, unfortunately. At the way things have been going lately, I don't even know if her and I can be friends anymore."

Feeling bad for her stressed out friend/brother, she did the only thing she could do and wrapped her arms around him in a hug, while he smiled and hugged her back. "Thanks, sis, I needed that."

"No problem, bro."

* * *

Meanwhile, Mickie had just woken up in Jericho's hotel room, and then a small smile came across her face once she remembered the events of the night before. She never in a million years would've thought that she and someone she once thought of as a close friend would end up having sex, and the Diva was surprised that he was actually a good lover. Of course, Sabin was a much better lover, but her thoughts were interrupted once she saw the Canadian enter the room with a bouquet of flowers and a tray of food all at the same time.

"Hey, nice of you to join the land of the living, sleepyhead." he smiled.

She giggled. "Look, last night was a long night, ok? I deserved all the rest that I could get."

"Fair enough. So, care for breakfast in bed, Beautiful One?" he asked, placing the tray over her.

"Aw, Jericho! You shouldn't have!" she smiled.

"But I couldn't just let my culinary skills go to waste. I mean, I am a man of many talents, and cooking just has to be one of them."

"Well, that's very sweet of you, thank you, babe." Mickie smiled, giving him a kiss.

"Don't forget about the roses. I remember you told me once that these were your favorites." he smiled, handing her the bouquet.

"You…really remember me telling you that?" she asked, surprised. "It's been like, years ago."

"So? Mickie, I've remembered everything that you ever told me. Like how as a little girl, your first dream was to be a cowgirl, and the time where you attended that senior prom gone totally wrong, or even the time where you told me that your hamster ran away and you went into a temporary depression."

Mickie gasped with an amused smile on her face. "No way! No way you remembered all that, Chris!"

"Hey, I've been the lead singer of a rock band for the past 13 years, so memory is a powerful tool if you have to remember lyrics." he said surely.

"You are amazing." the brunette replied, sniffing her flowers. "Baby, thank you for everything, the flowers, breakfast in bed, and just giving me a place to sleep – peacefully."

He smiled. "Of course. I'll be happy to do anything for my new girlfriend. Actually, you wanna know something?"

"What?"

"I've actually had some serious feelings for you for years, to be honest. Just had to keep things on the down low, since I was married at the time, though."

Her eyes widened. "You have? How long?"

"Heh. Ever since I first laid eyes on you, actually."

"Oh—Oh, my God." she uttered, feeling herself blush.

"Yeah, shocking truth, ain't it?"

"Uh, yeah! So…you were crushing on me, even when you were with your wife?"

"Yep. But just having you here now with me, makes me believe that this was well worth the divorce." he smiled.

"Oh wow, I don't know if I should feel guilty or flattered." Mickie giggled.

"Hey, feel however the hell you want to feel. Point is, you and I are going to have something great." Jericho said truthfully, leaning down to give her a passionate kiss. "Here, let me put these flowers in some water. Be right back."

After hearing Jericho's confession, Mickie was touched that he had the balls to tell her such a deep, dark secret. And besides that, the way he remembered everything that she had once told him pleased her even more, so maybe he was right. They really COULD have something great. But aside from that, there was just one problem – she seriously missed her friends, including Sabin.

* * *

A little while later, Alex, AJ, Velvet, and Chris had all arrived to IHOP for some breakfast…

"You know, I wonder what's tastier. Skrimps or pancakes." Alex thought, dousing some more syrup over his.

"Dude, why can't you just call them shrimps?" asked Chris.

"Because he has a black hole for a brain?" Velvet chimed in.

He flashed her a look. "Shut up."

"No!"

"Alex, stop upsetting Velvet or else I'll have to make you suffer." Sabin announced.

"Oh? And just what the hell are you going to do?" Shelley asked with a smirk.

"Simple. I'll tie you to a chair and force you to watch 8 straight hours of Keeping Up With the Kardashians."

Alex dropped his syrup bottle in mid pour. "…Ok, I know you're evil, but not THAT evil, you spawn of Satan!"

They all laughed, until they noticed that the smile on AJ's face had faded and she quietly began checking her phone for any new messages.

They all turned their attentions to her.

"April?" asked Alex.

"Ok, sis, I know that something's up with you, so just stop trying to hide it from us and tell us so that we can help." Chris demanded.

The tiny Diva looked towards Alex before sighing. "Ok, might as well. Yesterday, when Alex and I visited my parents' house, everything seemed fine at first, but things got pretty nasty quite quickly." she announced.

"What happened?" asked Velvet.

"I head upstairs and overhear my father telling Alex that he should break up with me."

Chris and Velvet exchanged shocked looks.

"AJ, Alex, what the—" he began.

"Oh, wait, you haven't even heard the worst part. See, he doesn't want me seeing her because –get this – I'm white." Shelley replied.

"What?" Sabin cried, not hearing him right.

"Wha—I don't understand." Velvet began.

"Basically, my pop's a traditional guy, and he wants for me to be with someone of my own kind. Someone who's either Spanish or Puerto Rican." AJ finished. "Can you believe that-that bullshit?"

Alex shook his head at the memory, while he ran a hand up and down her back.

"So, what you're saying is that he's pretty much prejudiced towards people of a different background than yours." said Chris.

"Pretty much. And it's not the first time he's done this. He's chased away the last boyfriend that I had in the exact same way. He just better not do the same with Alex, because I refuse to let my father take him away from me!" AJ exclaimed, trying not to get too emotional again. "I just can't believe that he's like this."

"That is probably the saddest thing I've ever heard. Who cares about ethnicity? If you love someone, then just be with them!" exclaimed Velvet.

"Thank you!" AJ agreed. "That's exactly what he needs to realize!"

"Well, I've been telling April earlier that I don't care what he or anyone says, I'm going to be with her no matter what." Alex replied, giving her a kiss. "I love this woman too much to let her go."

"I love you, too." she smiled back, kissing him.

"Aw man, I'm just sorry you two had to be put through all that. I'm assuming that neither of you are ever going back there again?" asked Chris.

They looked at one another.

"Well, we have to. I'm still going over there to visit my mother no matter what, but as for Father Dearest…I just don't know. No, I won't speak to him until he accepts Alex as a part of my life." she nodded surely, as Alex nodded along.

"Yeah, you go, chica!" Velvet smiled, high fiving with her.

"Yeah, chin up, little sis, everything's going to be all right as long as you let us help ya." Chris smiled as she smiled back.

"You guys rock for this." the tiny Diva smiled, glad to have her friends rallying behind her.


	50. Chapter 50

**Chapter 50**

One week later, it was another Monday, and the gang traveled to the newest city for the latest installment of Raw. Mickie was still pretty isolated from her friends and spent pretty much all of her time with Jericho, while trying to keep her relationship a secret from everyone who hadn't already known. Now, the two were in Jericho's locker room, engaged in their own make out session…

"Mmm…how nice is it that we have this private little locker room all to ourselves?" the Diva asked, kissing him every other second.

"Oh, babe, it is total bliss." Jericho replied, combing a hand through her hair. "And you know, the beautiful thing about being the Champ is that I can have anything I want at my beck and call. This also means that anything _you_ want, I can have it here for you in a heartbeat."

She giggled. "It's like we're rich or something!"

"Damn right, babe." he chuckled. "So just a serious question here, Mickie. Are you still feeling upset over what your ex boyfriend and his shiny new girlfriend did to you, or are you feeling just a little better now?"

"To be honest, it doesn't hurt so much anymore ever since I began seeing you. For the first time in months, I've been feeling a lot happier and it's all thanks to my Sexy Beast here. So thank you for helping me find my smile again."

"No apologies needed, just glad to cheer up someone that means the world to me. You're amazing." Chris replied genuinely, looking into her eyes.

"You're hot." she replied, giving him another kiss.

"You're sexy." he retorted, giving her a kiss, before lying her down on the bench and hovering his body over hers. She fiddled around with his shirt and was about to remove it, but then broke away. "Aw, wait."

"What?"

"I can't stay very long, I have a match with AJ." she replied, sitting up.

He nodded. "And I actually have a promo to shoot with Punk not too long from now, too. Damn."

"Well, it's ok. We can just finish this party after the show." the Diva said seductively, kissing the side of his neck.

"Ooh, that's my sweet spot, baby." he chuckled.

"I will remember that for later on." Mickie replied, blowing him a kiss before she headed off. "Later, Y2J."

He chuckled and sent her a wave in return. "Wow, what a babe." he smiled, happy that he finally had her to himself.

* * *

Meanwhile, Mickie was on her way to the Guns' locker room, when she turned a corner and ran into none other than CM Punk.

"Oh hey, Mickie, I've been looking all over for you." he smiled.

"Hey, Punk. What do you need?" she asked.

"I just wanted to ask if you were feeling all right, and if you wanted to hang out with Britani and I tonight. I uh, know that you've been having problems with the rest of the Guns."

Mickie was surprised that Britani allegedly hadn't told Punk that she was with Jericho, but replied, "Aw, you're sweet for asking, CM, but I'm feeling a lot better for one, and uh, I actually have plans after the show later on."

"No kidding? What's up with you?"

"Uh, well…I'm just hanging out with a special someone of mine, that's all." she replied nervously.

"Aw, come on, Micks, you can spill. I won't tell anyone." he said with a wink.

Before she could reply, Jericho turned the corner and noticed his girlfriend there before he saw Punk. "Hey, baby, I-"

He froze, Mickie turned pale, and Punk's expression turned to shock.

"Uh oh." the Canadian muttered.

"Heh heh. You're joking, right?" the tattooed man asked Jericho.

"Wh-what are you talking about?" she uttered.

"Don't play dumb, Mickie! I just heard him call you baby! Jericho, I don't know what the hell kind of game you're playing, but this ends now. Leave her the hell alone."

"Punk, you don't understand—" he began.

"I don't need to understand! I know all about your little game! You're just trying to lure Mickie away from her friends, trying to charm her. Well, I'm not going to let you take advantage of her like that, dude. Mickie, you're coming with me." he said, taking her arm.

"Punk, wait!" she cried, pulling away.

He whipped around.

She sighed and decided to spill everything. "Chris isn't playing any type of game, and he's not taking advantage of me."

Now, he crossed his arms and looked down at her.

"He and I have been seeing each other exclusively for the last few weeks." she revealed, grabbing Jericho's arm.

Punk slowly shook his head. "Unbelievable."

"Now, Punk, I know this may come as a shock to you, even though this really has nothing to do with you—" began Chris.

"I don't want to hear it!" he cut him off. "Mickie, you do know that he's my enemy, right? You know that he's the enemy of the rest of your friends, right?"

"Look, that's your business, but Jericho has been nothing but a friend to me, and he's been here for me when nobody else was!" she cried.

"What are you talking about, we were all here for you if you needed us!"

"It was just different with Chris. We have a connection here, all right?"

"But he's married with kids, Mickie!" he exclaimed.

"I'm in the process of getting a divorce, all right?" Y2J replied flatly. "In fact, the reason I'm getting this divorce is because I want to be with her."

Punk sighed. "Mickie, you're better than this. You don't have to stoop so low and resort to hanging around with him of all people."

Now, she was getting annoyed. "Excuse me, but I don't think that I have to explain myself to you."

"I'm just trying to stop you from making such a stupid decision!" he snapped.

"Punk, just give it a rest and leave her alone, damn it!" Jericho exclaimed.

"Yeah, in fact, I'm just so sick of everyone telling me how to run my life and what they think is best for me! I am a grown woman and I can do whatever the hell I please. I am in love with Chris here," she admitted, to the shock of them both. "And I don't care what everyone else thinks."

CM nodded coolly, and sighed. "Well, point taken. All right, if that's how strongly you feel about this, Mickie, then go ahead, have a great life with him. But just know that as long as you're with him, you won't be seeing me anymore."

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked.

"I mean, consider our friendship over until you drop this guy." he announced, his eyes narrowing while he looked down at her.

"Fine. So be it." Mickie agreed, crossing her arms and then turning to Jericho.

Punk scoffed before heading on his way, while Jericho wrapped his arms around the Diva. "Hey, you all right?"

"I'll be fine, babe." she leaned up to give him a kiss. "I gotta get going and find AJ. Match is about to begin in a few."

* * *

Meanwhile, in the Guns locker room…

"Wow, so they're really going to have a Diva's Money in the Bank match at the next PPV?" asked Velvet.

"That's what Del Rio had said last week, but I don't know if I can take his word for anything." replied AJ.

"Well if there is, then that'd be awesome!" exclaimed Chris. "Wait, Alex, have you heard if we'll be in this year's MITB match?"

"It's possible! I heard that there's gonna be a few qualifying matches beginning this week and next week to see who's in. I think we're gonna be in a tag team match against whoever and whichever team wins, both members are qualified." he explained.

"Dude, how'd you know all this?" asked Sabin.

"…I snuck into Johnny's office to steal his duct tape and happened to see the paperwork." he shrugged as if it were no big deal.

"…And just what could you possibly want with duct tape, dare I ask?" asked Velvet.

"Well, blondie, for starters, I was looking forward to taping your mouth shut while you were sleeping. Besides, none of the rest of us want to hear all that wallowing in the middle of the night, you sound like freaking Shamu choking on two Quarter Pounders!" he snapped back.

"Oh—OH!" Velvet gasped, offended, while Chris couldn't help but to smile and AJ tried her hardest not to burst out laughing.

"Yeah, yeah, find a comeback for THAT!" Alex exclaimed.

In retaliation, she threw her cane at him, which barely missed him once he quickly ducked. "HEY!" he cried.

"I'm surprised I didn't spear that foux Mohawk off of your head." the blonde smirked.

"Wow, you two need to stop this before one of you ends up killing the other." AJ laughed, but then their smiles faded once they saw Mickie reluctantly step into the room.

Velvet grimaced and crossed her arms, Chris's expression turned blank, and Alex flashed her a smile along with AJ.

"Hey, Mickie." the two greeted.

"Hey, Alex, AJ. …Chris." she began.

"Mickie." he said flatly, not able to make eye contact with her.

"I uh, just came to tell you, AJ, that our match is in a few minutes." she announced.

"Oh, ok. Better get ready. I'll see you guys in a few!" the tiny Diva smiled, hugging Velvet, knuckle punching with Chris, and then giving Alex a kiss.

"Good luck—kick ass, sis!—I love you!" the three replied once she headed out.

In the hall, Mickie pulled AJ aside and asked, "April, I have to ask you something important."

"Sure, what's up?"

"Um, do you support my relationship with Jericho?"

"I—why are you asking me this?"

"Well, just a few minutes ago, Punk found out that we were seeing one another and pretty much ended our friendship right there. I told him that it was my life and I didn't have to base my decisions around what he thought about Jericho." she explained. "Just wanted to know if either you or Alex felt the same way."

AJ sighed and then took her hands. "Mickie, I know you've been going through a lot now, and yeah, we never expected you to choose Jericho. But if you're happy, then I'm happy for you. And I'm sure that Alex feels the same."

The Country Diva smiled and gave her a hug. "Oh, AJ, thank you! At least somebody understands."

"Of course, I'm just glad that we're still speaking to one another." she smiled back.

"Sure! Look, I know that I haven't been around much, but you and Alex are still two of my best friends. Sabin would be, too, but we just can't deal with one another while he's with that blonde bitch in there. Now, let's get going for our match." she replied, taking her hand…until Del Rio crossed their path.

"Oh no." April sighed, rolling her eyes.

"AJ, _mamacita_! You are looking as beautiful as ever, darling." the Mexican replied.

"Thanks, Al." she nodded. "What's up, we have a match to go to in a few minutes."

"Oh, I just wanted to wish you good luck out there, and to look forward to a nice, cold bottle of champagne waiting for you after you win." he replied, strolling off. "Oh, and…tell your _familia_ that I said _hola_." he flashed her a charming smile before he left.

Shocked, AJ just blinked while Mickie snapped her out of it.

"AJ? What the hell was that about?"

"I don't know, and I don't even want to know. C'mon, let's have our match." the tiny Diva replied, taking her hand and leading her out.

* * *

Meanwhile, Jericho was minding his own business and strolling down the hall, planning all the nice things he could do for Mickie…

"I definitely gotta get her a gift that she'll love. What, I don't know." he told himself. "Hmm…maybe she'll love those music note shaped earrings that I saw in the mall."

"Jericho!" called a familiar voice. "Jericho, can I speak to you for a moment?"

He turned around to find Johnny Laurinitis. "Oh, Mr. L! How can I help you?"

"Well, I'm currently expanding my huge stable for my People Power campaign, and seeing that you're the WWE Champion now, I've offering you a great deal."

"I'm listening." he crossed his arms.

"So, as you probably know, I've recruited Superstars and Divas including Alberto Del Rio, Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger, Beth Phoenix, Eve, Otunga, Batista, the list goes on. But since you are the current face of this company, you joining this stable will only make us that much stronger." he explained. "Now here's the deal: A little birdie told me that you're seeing Mickie James, is that not true?"

"Who the hell told you that?" he demanded, surprised.

"That's classified. Now, if you manage to turn Mickie against her friends, the Guns, both you and her could become the new power couple around here! She can join us, too! So both of you turn to the side of People Power, and what I will do for you, my friend, is ensure that Punk will never get his hands onto the WWE Championship again." Ace said with a sadistic smirk.

"Hmm…" Jericho grinned. "Wait, so say that I agree to this. Mickie won't get hurt in any way, right? I-I mean, I don't want anything bad happening to her."

"Nothing will happen to her, I guarantee it. So…are you in?"

The Canadian pondered over this, and saw more good in it than bad. He still got to keep Mickie, and he wouldn't have to worry about losing his title back to Punk. Sounded pretty good to him. Before answering, his grin grew wider, and right then and there, Johnny smiled along, already knowing what his answer was going to be.


	51. Chapter 51

**Chapter 51**

Meanwhile, as the girls' match was going on, Chris and Velvet were busy making out in the Guns' locker room, with an annoyed Alex sitting on the other side and watching with a grimaced look on his face. Grumbling to himself, he turned back to the TV in their room and smiled upon seeing his girlfriend get the upper hand on Kelly Kelly. "That's my girl. Better go out and congratulate her." he smiled, heading out, but once the match was winding down, and both she and Mickie got the win, everyone was surprised to hear Del Rio's theme music around the arena, as the place flooded in boos.

"Oh, hell no." Shelley muttered, rushing out to stop whatever trouble that was about to begin.

Out in the ring, AJ and Mickie exchanged confused looks while Del Rio smiled that million dollar smile of his and approached the ring with a mic in hand.

"Ay, how wonderful is this? Ladies, ladies, congratulations on your win, especially you, AJ." he began, climbing into the ring while she gave him a look. "And to celebrate, I've brung in some Dom Perignon imported straight from France! Ricardo, get out here and bring the lady her drink!"

The suited announcer quickly scurried towards the ring and rolled in a cart with two empty glasses and a nice cold bottle of champagne. "Ah, wonderful. Would you like a taste?" Del Rio asked AJ, handing her a glass.

She shook her head in reply.

"Aw, come on, mamacita! Please accept this as a gesture of my kindness. You see, as Alberto Del Rio, I have it all – money, power, greatness…but the one thing I'm missing is a beautiful woman on my arm. Now, you, April Jeanette, would be the perfect choice. What do you say?" he asked, still grinning.

AJ turned to Mickie, before the two bursted out laughing.

Alberto, on the other hand, was not amused. "Why is this funny? This is no joke, I am serious! AJ, I want you to leave with me, so give me an answer right now!" he exclaimed.

"Not on your life, dude." the tiny Diva replied surely.

He frowned. "You do not know what you are missing, sweetheart. You see, join me, and I will give you whatever your heart desires…and I will be WAY better than that low-life punk of a boyfriend Alex Shelley!" he snapped.

AJ gasped upon hearing this, and then retaliated by sending a monster slap across his face, eliciting cheers from the crowd.

The Mexican aristocrat held his cheek in pain, not noticing the cheers growing even louder from the fans. He gave AJ a look, before slowly turning around to find Alex suddenly standing behind him, breathing heavily. Before Del Rio even had a chance to speak, Alex kicked the taller man in the jewels, causing him to yell out in pain and fall to his knees, and then took him out with his finisher, the Sliced Bread #2, to more cheers.

Ricardo tried to intervene, but both AJ and Mickie double teamed him when Mickie held him in a standing reverse headlock, and AJ climbed up the top turnbuckle, posed to the fans, and leapt off, landing over the announcer. Before either of them could fight back, Alex, AJ, and Mickie all slid out of the ring and smiled in triumph, while Del Rio snarled and tried to gain his composure once again.

Moments later, they all arrived backstage…

"Well, kicking his ass was fun." Shelley announced. "You girls ok?"

Mickie smiled and replied, "Yep, we're fine."

AJ gave him a kiss. "Better than fine. Thanks for coming out when you did, Shells. I wasn't sure what he might've done after I slapped him."

"Hey, my job is to protect you, remember?" he smiled back.

The Country Diva smiled at her two friends, but then noticed Jericho standing at the end of the hall and her smile grew wider. "Uh guys, I gotta get going, Chris is waiting for me." she said, rushing off. Once she reached him, she wrapped her arms around his neck and wrapped him in a kiss.

"Hey, babe, nice work out there as usual." he smiled.

"Thanks! So, what's up?"

"Nothing major, but every time I happen to watch your matches, I just can't help but to wonder."

"Wonder what?" she asked.

"It seems that AJ always gets the last pin, you know, she gets more exposure than you do. Don't you think?" he asked.

"Hmm…I haven't really noticed, to be honest. I always thought that she and I were treated equally." replied the Diva.

"Yeah, but still, it seems like she's overshadowing you. I mean, look at what just happened now! Del Rio began this whole angle with AJ, not you! It seemed that you were suddenly pushed into the background. Doesn't that bother you just a little bit?"

She realized that what he was saying was pretty true, and shrugged a little. "I guess. But she's my best friend, so I'm happy for her."

"That's totally understandable, but I'm just saying. You're just as beautiful and talented as she is, and you deserve to get the same credit. If this keeps happening to you, I suggest you do something about it." he replied, kissing her forehead.

"Chris, I just can't get over how sweet you're being towards me. I-I love you."

He smiled upon hearing this from her again and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Mickie, I've wanted to tell you this years ago. I love you, too." he said sincerely.

The brunette grinned before the two leaned in to share an incredible kiss.

* * *

The next morning, at the gang's hotel…

"…No, no, no, NO!" Alex cried once Velvet beat him to the showers first. "You—you WITCH!"

The blonde poked her head out from the door, stuck out her tongue, and slammed the door in his face.

"Alex, if you would just be nicer to her, she wouldn't be so mean to you. It's karma, dude." Chris chuckled, rounding up the gang's video games.

"I can't be nice to her if she's never nice to me!" he exclaimed, annoyed. "What are you doing with those games, anyway?"

"Just seeing if we need any upgrades." he replied. "Hey, Halo!"

"Hey, that's the game I beat Alex 13 times in a row with!" AJ exclaimed, smiling.

"That's the game that I beat Alex 15 times in a row with, too!" Sabin agreed, grinning.

Shelley glared at them. "What the hell is this, 'Pick on Alex' day?"

April wrapped an arm around him and sat on his lap. "We are not picking on you, Shells, just take a joke, all right? Besides, it's true, I did beat you that many times in Halo."

"You beat me in every game that we play!" he pouted.

"I didn't beat you, you LET me win!" she laughed.

"Hell, he lets me win, too." agreed Chris.

"You—well—I—UH!" he grumbled, crossing his arms and pouting some more.

"You're such a wuss!" Chris laughed. "Jeez, grow up, dillhole."

In reply, Alex approached him, kicked him on the leg, and then sped off before Chris could get ahold of him.

"OW! Hey, you turdmunch, get back over here so I can I kick your ass!" Sabin cried, running into the living room where he managed to tackle Alex down onto the couch. The two were grappling around until AJ ran in and acted as referee. "1…2…3! Here is your winner!" she exclaimed, holding up Chris's arm.

"Yay, me!" he cheered.

"No, no, no! I want a recount, damn it!" Alex exclaimed. "April, why have you betrayed me?"

"Oh, man up, Alex, it was a fake match."

"Fake match? I'll show you 'fake match'! Chris, hold her still!" Shelley exclaimed while Chris smirked and did what he was told.

"Sorry sis."

"Sorry for what?" she asked before Alex began tickling her sides and she began laughing uncontrollably. "AAH! Damn it, Alex, stop it, stop it!"

"I'm not stopping until you call me as the winner of that fake match, so say it!" he exclaimed, still tickling her.

"NO!"

"SAY IT!"

"Just say it, AJ!" Chris chuckled.

"Haha, ok, ok, you're the winner, ok, you won, now stop it!" she laughed between each word.

Just then, the bell rang and before either of them could answer it, Velvet – clad in her robe and a towel wrapped around her hair – sped out first. "Oh my God, is my order of new Avon cosmetics finally in?"

The three just looked at her.

She looked back at them "…What?"

Once she answered the door, she found a bellboy there, holding out a small box. "Present for AJ?" he asked.

"Yes, that's me." she replied, taking the box. "Thank you." After she walked away, the bellboy stood there with his hand still open, and Velvet looked him down. "No tip." she finished, slamming the door in his face.

"You know, that bellboy's probably going to haunt you in your sleep for being so rude to him." Alex smirked.

"Oh shut up, Alex. AJ, what's in the box, I wanna see!" she exclaimed.

"I just want to know who it's from." replied Chris.

"Ok, ok, I'm opening it, let me see!" the Diva quickly opened her package, and to her shock, found a set of car keys!

They exchanged confused looks. "Someone gave you a car?" Alex asked, surprised.

"Wait, there's a note, too. Read it." instructed Chris.

"'To my darling April, hope you will enjoy the new 2014 Jaguar f-type convertible that is waiting in the parking lot for you - Alberto.'" she read.

Now shocked, the four looked down at the note, and then looked at each other. "Del Rio?" they asked in unison. "…_Jaguar f-type convertible?"_

And after that brief pause, the four of them abandoned everything and sped out of their room, downstairs, and in seconds they were outside and at the parking lot. Once they saw the brand new midnight blue Jaguar convertible, the four of them gasped in absolute shock.

"DAMN!" Alex and Chris cried at once.

"Pretty…" Velvet smiled. "Oh my God, AJ, you're so lucky! I want one!"

Meanwhile, the tiny Diva was speechless, and when she finally found her voice again, she uttered, "Alberto bought this for me? This—this hasn't even been released to the public yet!"

"Dude, it's gotta be worth at least $100 grand!" exclaimed Alex.

"I thought Del Rio was supposed to be a prick, but now…damn it, I want one of these!" Chris exclaimed. "I could get a pair of those cool sunglasses and blast some hard rock from the stereos, being all badass and totally pimped out…"

"And I'd look fabulous in the passenger's seat, being your eye candy, and you know how many heads we'd turn if you'd drive me to the mall in this?" Velvet agreed, grabbing his arm.

"I was totally planning on hunting Del Rio down, but after this, I kind of want to hug him now. Well, not really." replied Alex.

"I get first dibs on the driver's seat!" Chris exclaimed, rushing to hop in the car.

"The hell you are, I'M first!" Alex argued, practically shoving him out of the way, and before you knew it, the two were fighting and clawing away at one another for possession of the front seat.

AJ looked over the note one more time before snapping back to reality. "Guys, GUYS!" she shouted.

The boys stopped in mid-fight and turned to look at her.

"I-I can't accept this car!" she exclaimed.

"Aw, babe!" Alex whined.

"Whyyyyyy?" Chris pouted.

"This came from Alberto Del Rio of all people, I can't accept anything from that guy!" the Diva explained. "If it were from anyone else, I could see, but not from him."

"Well, I'll be glad to take it off of your hands." Chris smiled.

"NO!" Alex argued. "I want it!"

"Nobody's taking this off of anybody's hands because this car's going right back where it came from." AJ said sternly.

"So you're really just going to get rid of this beauty and resort back to that 1975 trans am rental car that nearly got us all stuck out on I 95 in the middle of oncoming traffic?" asked Velvet.

AJ became silent for a moment.

"The rope seat belts didn't help much, either." agreed Alex.

"Or the fact that the passenger's side door can't stay closed, so I nearly flew out onto the highway once." added Chris.

The tiny Diva sighed. "…Who wants to drive the Jaguar first to Sonic?"

"YAY!" the three cheered, while Alex wrapped her in a tight hug and gave her a kiss.

* * *

Meanwhile, Mickie was at the supermarket doing some shopping for both her and Jericho, humming a tune while she skimmed down each aisle.

"Ooh, Cookie Crisps, his favorite!" she smiled, dropping the box into her basket. Then, she sighed. "These are Sab's favorites, too. Wow, I'm torn between two Chris's who are both so amazing in their own rights. What's a girl to do?" she asked herself, shaking her head. Her thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of her phone:

_What can I do for you, am I your wildest dream_

_What do I move in you, am I what I seem_

_My eyes, they lie and you cry, love brings you pain_

_And if you try to love me, you'll not feel the same_

_L.O.V.E, all I need's my love machine, oh_

_L.O.V.E, all I need's my love machine, oh_

_L.O.V.E, all I need's my love machine, oh_

_L.O.V.E, all I need's my love machine, oh_

Mickie smiled at hearing her new Fozzy ringtone that she had just downloaded onto her cell, and answered it, asking, "Hey, Chris…"

"_Hey, baby, I hope you're on your way back soon because I miss you like, lots and lots!"_ he exclaimed from the other line.

The Diva giggled, but didn't notice a blonde woman staring bullets through her in the distance. Her three kids were running around the aisle. Mickie continued, "Wow, dude, you're not 4 years old anymore, grow up!"

"_You know that you love me this way. So, you miss me as much as I miss you?"_

"I do miss you. And just so you know, I just brought the last box of Cookie Crisps." she smiled.

"_Yeah, ALL RIGHT!"_

"Haha!"

"_You rock, babe, and just for that, I'm totally taking you out for dinner later tonight."_

"Aw, yay! Wait, you sure it'll be at a place where we won't run into…you know who?"

"_Totally sure. I assure you that we won't have a repeat of what happened the last time we went out. K?"_

"Awesome. I'll be back home in a few. I love you, Jericho." the Diva smiled.

"_Ok. I love you too, Micks, see ya when I see ya." _

Once she hung up, she sighed contently, but was jarred out of her thoughts once she nearly collided into another shopping cart.

"Oh, gosh, I'm sorry, ma'am!" Mickie exclaimed.

The person behind the shopping cart just happened to be the blonde woman who was staring at her before. "Kids, go and wait for me at the checkout line, ok?"

They laughed and ran ahead.

"Don't leave the store without me!" she called after them, before turning back to Mickie.

"Ma'am, I am so sorry for almost running into you, I—" she began.

"You don't just happen to be Mickie James, are you?" the woman asked.

"Uh, yeah, that's me!" she nodded.

"Yeah, I thought so." the blonde replied before sending a sharp slap across Mickie's face.

She gasped, and held her aching cheek when the woman suddenly snapped, "You stay the hell away from my husband, you home-wrecking bitch!"

Her eyes widening, Mickie could barely utter a word.


	52. Chapter 52

**_AN: Sorry for the weekend long wait, you guys. :(_**

* * *

**Chapter 52**

Mickie held her sore cheek before turning to the blonde woman with a shocked look that never left her face after she was slapped.

"…" she couldn't even utter a word.

"Did you hear me? I said stay the hell away from my husband." the blonde woman repeated with a look of scorn.

The Diva finally found her voice again. "…And WHO are you and what the hell is your problem?" she demanded.

"I am Jessica Irvine, aka Chris Jericho's WIFE." she explained. "You have some nerve."

"What the hell are you talking about, you're not his wife anymore!" the brunette snapped.

"Oh no? Take a look." Mrs. Irvine replied, whipping out her wallet which draped out a roll of pictures including her and Jericho, happy and smiling, their three kids, and Jericho with each of his children.

Mickie slowly shook her head and replied, "You have a beautiful family, but you can't call me a homewrecker."

"Why the hell not? Chris is my husband! We are happily married!"

"Not anymore!" she argued.

"What are you talking about?"

"Chris told me himself that he was in the process of getting a divorce from you! I don't know why, but what he told me was that he wanted to divorce you so that he could be with me." Mickie replied with a serious look. "And that's the truth."

Jessica, though, was not amused. "You lying bitch! Just because you work with him, doesn't give you the right to make up these lies about my husband! He has a FAMILY to come home to, and you need to take your trifling, whoring self and leave him the hell alone."

The Diva chuckled lightly. "Ok, you do know that calling me all these names doesn't make you any better, right? Chris said that he was getting a divorce from you, and I believe him. We love each other, Jessica. He told me himself that he loved me, and I feel the same about him."

"Shut the HELL up and stop lying!" she snapped.

"I'm just telling you the bare truth! Chris and I've known each other for years, so we're really good friends. We just took things a step further, ok? If he's not tied down to you anymore, he's free to see whoever he wants to, and that person is me."

Jessica's eyes pierced into hers. "All right. I'm going to have a little chat with Chris himself and get some answers from out of him. In the meantime, if I hear that you two have been sleeping together, I'm filing a restraining order on you." she replied, turning around and walking down the aisle.

Mickie called after her, "News flash, honey, we've slept together before."

She stopped.

"And he is a wonderful lover. Did he ever make you scream in bed as much as he made me?" she continued.

Jessica half turned around and called back, "This is your last warning – stay away from Chris. Or else you'll be seeing me again, and you will NOT want to, trust me."

She shrugged in reply. "Ok. Tell Chris I said 'hi' and that I love him!" Mickie exclaimed with a smirk.

The blonde growled a little before rushing off in a huff.

* * *

Back at the hotel, Chris and Velvet had the bedroom to themselves and were killing time by having their own little make-out session…

He broke away first, gazed down at the blonde, and kissed the tip of her nose again, smiling. "You're beautiful, Beautiful."

She giggled. "Why thank you, Handsome. This is so nice, isn't it? Just the two of us here, with nobody to disturb us?" she asked, trailing a finger down his chest.

"Yeah, it is pretty nice." Sabin replied, eying her down.

"See, aren't you much happier now that you're with me, Chris?" she asked. "You don't have to worry about any more drama from Mickie and her running out on you every five minutes. You never deserved what she put you through, babe, and she never deserved you."

He sighed. "Just give it a rest, Vel, ok?"

"No, I can't just give it a rest! That bitch insulted me one too many times and I'm planning on getting her back once I see her again."

"Just what are you talking about?"

"I dunno. Maybe once my leg returns to 100%, we'll fight, I could cut up all of her clothes or dump paint all over them, y'know, I'll just make her life miserable." the blonde smiled.

"Velvet, come on, that's not cool."

"You deserve some type of justice, Chris!"

"But still! You don't have to go through all that just to hurt her. Mickie's doing her own thing, she found somebody else, and I'm happy for her…really."

Velvet looked up at him.

"Despite all that went on between us, I still don't want to see her miserable, so you just stay away from her, she'll stay away from you, and everyone wins." he explained.

The blonde sighed loudly. "Fine, fine, if that's what you want. But don't expect me to like her anymore, she ruined our friendship all on her own."

"Uh, no offense, Vel, but you had just as much to do with that as she did. At the time, you had no problem trying to advance on me, right?"

"But that's different! I—"

To shut her up, he gave her a slow kiss. "Shh. Just forget it. So speaking of your leg, how's it feeling now? You need to go to any more rehab appointments?"

"Yeah, just a few. But fortunately, it's feeling so much better now and I'm stoked! I can't wait to get back in the ring."

"Oh, so I guess you'll be heading back to Impact soon, huh?"

Her expression dropped, suddenly realizing that both she and her boyfriend were in rival companies. "Oh…Well, you know what? I just decided something. As much as I'd love to go back, I can't."

Sabin raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"I just can't! Chris, I love you too much to just leave you like that." Velvet smiled.

"I understand, but I don't want you to end up losing your job over me! I'm totally not worth it." he shook his head.

"Sab, are you kidding me? You are worth everything to me. And any sacrifice is worth it for you." the Knockout replied, giving him another kiss.

He was still surprised upon hearing this. "Jamie, Impact is your life! You love it there!"

"No, _you're_ my life." she corrected him, kissing him on the cheek before heading off. "I'll be right back, gonna check the mail."

He nodded and then checked his phone for any texts. Once he saw the background picture of Mickie, that he never wanted to change, he smiled at her beauty and lightly traced a finger around her outline. "You're my life, too." he whispered to himself, and silently whispered to Mickie, wherever she was.

* * *

Meanwhile, AJ and Alex were driving to the bank in their new Jaguar convertible, with Shelley in the driver's seat wearing his sunglasses and smiling all the way.

"Ah, baby, isn't this thing like a beauty? Don't you feel so carefree with the top down and the wind blowing through your hair, showing off to all the other drivers on the road with their…inferior four-wheeled nightmares?" he asked.

She turned to him and smirked a little. "Alex, you do know that the car's for me, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, you're acting like Del Rio brought it for you!"

"April, we're boyfriend and girlfriend now, which means we get to share our possessions. I share my video games with you all the time, so don't you owe me with this beautiful car?"

"There is a HUGE difference between a few video games and a $130,000 car, ok?" she replied.

"Well, either way, we're keeping this thing."

"Shells, we can't keep this forever. I just can't accept anything from someone like Del Rio! Wouldn't you do the same if Eve gave you a $100,000 car?"

He pondered for a moment.

She looked at him.

He kept pondering.

"Alex!"

"What? I'm thinking!"

"You shouldn't have to think about it at all!"

He sighed. "Okay, okay, you made your point. We'll get rid of this…rare, one of a kind vehicle, and resort back to that piece of crap Trans Am that'll one day drive us all off of the freeway and kill us. Kay?" he asked, smiling.

She playfully punched his arm. "Don't be sarcastic, you jerk." she chuckled as the two stopped in front of the bank. "Look, let's worry about the car situation later, I gotta go and get my next check from out of here."

Before she could step out of the car, Alex cried, "Oh, no need for that, let the car do that for ya." Then, with the click of the car's remote, the door on AJ's side rose vertically while her eyes widened. "H-How does it DO that?"

He smirked. "Beats me, but ain't it cool?"

The two then entered the bank to where they both approached the teller's window.

"Hey, how may I help you?" the woman behind the window asked.

Alex wrapped his arms around her waist and began kissing her neck, while she said between giggles, "Hi, I'd like to make a deposit for $1,000, please. Shells, stop it!"

"All righty then, can I see some ID?" asked the teller.

The Diva slipped her the card before smiling seductively and turning around to wrap Alex in a slow, yet passionate kiss while his arms pulled her closer to him. "Mmm, baby…" he muttered.

Neither of them noticed the annoyed – EXTREMELY annoyed customers standing behind them on line.

"Hey. Hey, EY!" this old woman cried out.

The two broke away and turned back to her.

"You two better knock it off right this minute, you hear?"

They shrugged, ignored her, and resumed kissing.

Apparently not getting through to them, the lady banged her cane multiple times and cried, "STOP IT!"

Alex whipped around, annoyed. "Look, lady, why don't you mind your own damn business, all right?"

"You and your little whore need to find a room!" she snapped back, to the shock of both of them.

"OH! Excuse me?" AJ demanded. "I am not a whore!"

"Hey, you apologize to my girlfriend right now, Betty Crocker!" Alex snapped. "Show some respect!"

"You try me, punk, I'ma use this cane to knock you OUT! Come on!" she exclaimed, urging for him to fight her.

He chuckled. "Lady, I don't know if your meds are kicking in or anything, but I'm a professional wrestler, so I'm not even going to waste my time with you."

"I don't care what you are, I've competed in the '39 Olympics and won 3 Gold metals! Now put em up, coward!"

Shelley frowned. "Coward? Are YOU calling ME a coward? All right, Grandma, put em up, let's go!" he cried, actually about to fight an elderly woman.

"Alex, stop—ALEX!" AJ cried, pulling him back and turning back to the teller, who smiled and announced, "Wow, congratulations for your sudden increase in cash!"

She raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Well, an anonymous donor had apparently sent you a check for…$750,000." she announced.

The crowd in the bank gasped while both AJ and Alex screamed in high pitched voices, "AH!"

"$7—750…" the tiny Diva barely uttered.

"HOW?" Alex cried, about two inches from the glass window.

AJ snapped out of it and then replied, "Del Rio. He was the one who probably sent me the check. He probably wired the cash to my account or something." she announced, once Alex whipped her around and firmly grabbed her shoulders.

"April, this is a sign. First, the expensive Jaguar, and now $750 grand in cold, hard cash? We are keeping this, all of it."

"Alex, I know that this is tempting, but no."

"Baby, come on! Yeah, we may hate the guy, but we can at least take his money!" Shelley exclaimed, smiling.

"We can't! Because if we do, it'll make us seem like we're accepting a bribe from him or something."

"Then why is he so concerned with getting you all these nice things?" he asked.

"I don't know. In fact, the other night before my match with Mickie, he told me to tell my _familia_ that he said hola." the Diva replied. "What does he mean by that?"

"Hmm. You think your folks have anything to do with Del Rio doing all this stuff, maybe?"

She nodded thoughtfully. "It's possible. Either way, I plan to get some serious answers from them."


	53. Chapter 53

**Chapter 53**

Fast forwarding to next Monday at the next Raw, Mickie still wasn't a happy camper after the confrontation with Jericho's wife, and after barely speaking to him for nearly a week, she finally confronted him in his locker room that night…

"Chris, we need to talk." she announced, slamming the door.

He looked up from polishing his belt. "Mickie! Hey, I've been trying to talk to you all week but you've been ignoring me." he replied, getting up and approaching her.

"Well I was just kind of getting over the shock of learning that your wife is actually still your wife." she replied. "I thought you told me that you and her were getting a divorce."

He sighed. "I did, but she apparently doesn't get it. I know that you guys ran into one another at the store last week and she said some pretty nasty things to you. She totally went too far and I'm sorry about it. I guess she just doesn't want to accept the fact that I want to be with you now." he replied.

She nodded slowly. "You don't have to apologize for her. So did she call you that day?"

"Yeah, she told me to stay away from you, but I told her that I didn't care what she thought, cause nobody can take me away from the woman that I've loved all along." Jericho replied, taking her hands.

Mickie smiled.

"Oh, babe…So, what about the kids?"

"Oh they're my heart, there's no doubt I'll still be in their lives because I love them to death. And I do love Jessica for being the mother of my children, but I'm IN love with you. So there's the difference." he replied.

"You are amazing. You know, she actually threatened to place a restraining order on me if I didn't stay away from you, but I don't give a damn what she thinks. I love you too, Chris, and nobody's going to change that."

"Not even Sabin?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

The Diva paused for a moment.

"Mickie…"

"I know, I know, I should get him out of my mind, but I can't."

"He broke your heart, Mickie, you need to move on like he did with Velvet."

"It's not that easy, Chris! He and I had something incredible, a love that I've never experienced before. I can't just forget about him, he's special to me."

"Even after what he did to you?"

"Please, can you stop bringing that up?" she demanded.

"No, Mickie, I'm going to keep bringing it up until you realize that he's no good for you! You deserve better, and you don't need him!" he argued.

She furiously shook her head and covered her ears. "No, I don't need to hear this, just stop!" she cried, storming out of the room, while Jericho narrowed his eyes and sighed at the fact that he was losing her to his enemy.

* * *

Also what happened that night, were the qualifying matches for this year's Money in the Bank PPV with the Superstars and the Divas. Well, the Divas were already pre-picked, and along with AJ, Mickie, Kaitlyn, Britani, Natalya, Layla, and Eve were all included into their first MITB ladder match as well. As for the guys, Dolph managed to cheat to win his spot in the match, along with Del Rio, Kane, CM Punk, and both Guns to finish it off.

AJ watched the Guns win their match and she smiled, cheering to herself. Once she was off to congratulate them on their win, she was stopped when Alberto Del Rio approached her first.

"Oh, no." she muttered, rolling her eyes.

"AJ! Mamacita! Were you impressed by me after winning my match? Don't deny it, because I know you were."

She crossed her arms. "No. I wasn't."

"Well, did you at least enjoy the new car that I brought you? Or the $750,000 I had wired into your bank account? I have even more cash coming your way, in fact."

"Look, Alberto, just stop, ok? Stop. You need to stop giving me all this stuff, because I don't need, nor want, any of it!" the Diva cried in protest.

"Surely you jest, April. You know that you love all of these extravagant things that I give you! Oh, and that reminds me. I have left you a present that you surely couldn't refuse – a fleet of brand new cars that I left for you in the parking lot."

She gasped. "No! I'm not accepting your gifts anymore! In fact, I don't even like you! So just leave me alone, all right?"

"You do not understand, woman. My money will buy everything and anything. Including you." he announced.

AJ shook her head before roughly slapping him across the face again. "You bastard. I'm not just some item that can be bought."

Before Del Rio could reply, Alex joined the two and stood behind AJ, while sending Del Rio a look. "What's going on here?" he asked.

"Well, nothing really. Just planning to steal your beautiful girlfriend soon enough and spoil her rotten." he smirked, before heading off.

"What?" Alex demanded, about to go after him. "Hey, you stay away from her, you hear me?"

"Alex, Alex, stop!" she exclaimed, holding him back. "Baby, just forget about him, ok?"

"Did he do or say anything to hurt you?"

"He never hurt me, he's just so annoying. He thinks that he can just buy my love with all of these gifts that he keeps getting me, but he never will. Alex, that's why I've been saying that we couldn't accept anything that he gave us. Understand where I'm coming from now?" she asked.

He nodded and wrapped his arms around her in a hug. "I do. Besides, you're stuck with me anyway, so there's no room for him to barge in." the Detroit native smiled.

She giggled and gave him a kiss. "I love being stuck with you, Shells."

* * *

Meanwhile, an angry and confused Mickie sat by herself on the hallway floor, thinking about everything that Jericho had told her earlier. Despite what Sabin did, there was still no way that she could just erase him from her life. Her thoughts were interrupted when a familiar voice called, "Mickie?"

She looked up. "Sab!"

He kneeled down to reach her height and asked, "Hey, what are you doing here by yourself?"

"I…I don't want to talk about it."

His eyes looked into hers. "It's Jericho, isn't it?"

"No." she said quietly.

"Mickie, did he hurt you?" he asked, concerned.

"Well, not exactly, but…Oh Chris, I'm just so confused!" she sighed, hiding her head into her arms.

"Hey, hey, it's all right. Just tell me what happened." Sabin replied, gently roaming a hand up and down her back.

"The other day, I ran into Jericho's wife in the store and somehow she found out about us being together, so what does she do? She slaps me across the face and calls me a homewrecker." she revealed.

He sighed. "So he's basically still married and lied to you, then?"

"No, he's still going through with the divorce, but now he just wants me to forget about you."

The Detroit native gave her a surprised look.

"I mean, I love him, and he loves me, so I guess he was just mad at you for hurting me, and what he thought was best was for me to just forget about you so that I wouldn't be hurting anymore." she explained. "I know he means well, but the thing is…I can't just forget about you, Chris. You're a special part in my life, even though a lot's happened between us over the last few months." she said tearfully, instinctively burying herself into his arms.

He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her cheek. "Hey, you're a special part in my life, too. Don't you forget that. I know we're been almost like enemies lately, but that doesn't change the fact that I still love you."

She smiled.

"And whenever you need a shoulder to cry on, I'm your guy."

"I'd rather have my best friend back." the Country Diva giggled.

Chris returned the smile and hugged her. "You got it, BFF."

And little did either of them know, both Jericho and Velvet came from opposite sides of the hall to find the scene.

"Ahem." announced Velvet.

The two immediately broke away and stood up.

"Uh, Mickie, can I talk to you alone for a sec?" Jericho asked, taking her hand and leading her away.

"Yeah, you too, Chris." agreed Velvet, doing the same with him.

Jericho led Mickie into a locker room. "Mickie, babe, I told you that he was no good for you, you can't trust what he says or else he'll just break your heart again."

In the hall…

"Chris, why are you consoling her? Mickie's just playing this pity act just to get you to feel bad for her!" exclaimed Velvet.

In the locker room…

"I love you, and you love me, right?" asked Jericho.

"Of course I do!" the Diva exclaimed.

In the hall…

"You love me as much as I love you, don't you, Chris?" asked Velvet.

"You know that I do, babe!"

In the locker room…

"Then here's the deal. As long as we're together, Mickie, you can't see Sabin anymore." he announced.

In the hall…

"As long as you and I are a couple, babe, you can't be around Mickie anymore." Velvet clarified.

Both Chris and Mickie were shocked.

"Vel, you can't be serious right now!" he exclaimed. "She's my best friend!"

"Jericho, that's totally unfair!" Mickie argued. "Sab's one of my best friends!"

He kissed the Country Diva and replied, "I know it seems unfair, but trust me, I'm doing this to help you. C'mon, show's nearly over, and there's a new music club around here that I want to take you to."

"Ok."

In the hall…

"I know that this seems a little rough at first, but trust me, Chris. Not being around her anymore is a good thing for you. Now since the show's almost over, let's grab Alex and AJ and head out somewhere. Ok?" Velvet asked with a smile.

He nodded a little. "All right."

As both couples headed out, Chris waited until Velvet was out of sight as Mickie did the same with Jericho, and said at the same time, "Chris—Mickie…I'm sorry."

The Country Diva walked ahead first and grabbed Jericho's hand, turning back to look one last time at Chris, while he sent her a small smile before heading off with Velvet.


	54. Chapter 54

**Chapter 54**

The next day, AJ was still confused about the whole Del Rio situation, and decided that she and Alex had to return back to New Jersey to have a little chat with her folks. Alex, on the other hand was not looking forward to the trip at all after what happened the last time.

"Are you sure you want to do this, babe?" he asked, driving their new rental car. Since they were all on the road most of the time anyway, they had no choice but to get rid of their Jaguar convertible. "Cause if you change your mind, I'll be more than happy to turn back around."

"No, Shells, we have to. I have to find out if my parents have anything to do with Del Rio doing all these nice things for me." she replied, before turning to him. "I know you're still upset about what happened before with my father."

"I am! I just don't want to deal with him anymore after what he said to us."

"Well, I'm bringing you back there whether he likes it or not, so if he's going to have an attitude, then that's his problem." the Diva replied seriously.

"Y'know, if I was with any other girl and I was in the same situation, I would've dumped them. But since it's you, I'm willing to face him again because that's how much I love you." he said, turning to her with a smile.

She smiled sweetly. "Oh, babe, I love you, too." she replied, taking his hand.

Once they arrived at the house, they were surprised to find a silver Ferrari already in the parking lot. Confused, the two exchanged looks.

"That's expensive." announced Alex, parking their car.

"I wonder who else is there. C'mon."

The two arrived and knocked on the door, to where her mother Lisa answered. She looked a little stressed out, but put on a smile upon seeing them. "April, _mija! _Alex, I'm happy to see you two here again!"

"I'm happy to see you too, mommy." the Diva smiled back, hugging her.

"Hey, Lisa! I still can't believe you're her mother, you look young enough to be her sister!" Alex exclaimed.

She laughed and hugged him. "You always know the right things to say, Alex, great to see you again!"

"Hey, are you all right? You look a little tired." AJ told her.

"Oh yeah, I'm fine, just…a lot has been going on around here."

"Oh? Like what?" she asked.

The answer just happened to be a door slamming, followed by the form of her father Antonio. He frowned upon seeing the two of them together, as Alex sent him a look and AJ defensively wrapped her boyfriend's arms around her.

"April, I see you've brought…him here again."

"Nice to see you too, father." she replied flatly.

He approached Alex, while the Detroit native sighed and announced, "Look, I'm willing to forget everything that happened here the last time that we met, and I was hoping that we could start over on a good note." he stuck out his hand. "Hi, I'm Alex Shelley, nice to meet you, sir."

Antonio refused to acknowledge him.

Shelley sighed and crossed his arms. "All right, you know what? Forget it. I'm done."

"Oh come on, dad, at least Alex is trying!" AJ snapped. "Why are you so stubborn and why can't you just accept him?"

"We've already discussed this before, April. He is not one of us, therefore, he has no business being here." he replied.

"Not one of us—that's bullshit!" she cried angrily.

"_Mija_." Lisa said quietly, gently placing her hands on her shoulders to calm her down.

"April, you watch your language around here!" he yelled.

"No! Alex has every right to be here because he is my BOYFRIEND. He treats me like a princess, he's never hurt me once, he's never cheated on me, and he's perfect! Is that not good enough for you?" the tiny Diva demanded.

"No, it's not!"

"Oh, my God…" she muttered, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms.

"And in fact, since you've made so many horrible decisions in choosing men, I've had the liberty of choosing one for you."

_"What?"_ Alex and AJ exclaimed in unison.

"You can't be serious!" she snapped.

"I'm dead serious. April, I want you to leave this scumbag and be with Alberto." he revealed, once Del Rio stepped from out of another room with a huge grin on his face.

"April! Surprised to see me, mamacita?"

The Diva felt like screaming, but no words came out as she stood there, shaking her head in disbelief. Alex, in the meantime grew pissed and fought the urge not to attack him right then and there. Lisa sighed and crossed her arms, already knowing that this was just a recipe for disaster.

"You see, Alberto is an old family friend of ours, and since you two work together, it would be wise of you to be with him instead. April, listen to me. He is rich, he is an aristocrat, and most importantly, he is a Mexican, so he is one of us! He will make your life that much easier."

The tiny Diva's lip trembled before replying, "I…don't…care."

"What?"

"I don't want anything to do with him! And I don't care how much money he has or if he's Mexican or not!" she continued. "Why-Why are you doing this to me?"

"April, I am trying to save your life before you make a huge mistake with this guy!" he snapped.

"I'm NOT making a mistake with Alex! Yeah, he may not have as much money as Del Rio here does, but I love him for him, not for the amount of cash he carries. And what he may lack in cash, he makes up for in love." the Diva replied defiantly. Her tone softened a bit. "Alex loves me, dad, he truly loves me. Alberto never could."

Antonio was about to reply something, but Del Rio stood up first. "April, darling, you are blinded! You think that you love him, but you're really fooling yourself. With me, you will get everything your heart desires and more, and most of all, if you spend one night with me, your so-called boyfriend will be a thing of the past."

This sent Alex over the edge. "Oh yeah, well why don't you just say that to my face, you son of a bitch?" he demanded, charging towards the older man while Del Rio riled him on.

"Come ON, ese, COME ON!" he yelled, urging for him to fight.

AJ had to hold Alex back while Antonio yelled, "You lay a hand on Alberto and I will call the cops and have you arrested for assault!"

"Damn it, everyone SHUT UP!" AJ screamed, grabbing everyone's attention. "Now, listen to my words. I want to make things clear to you once and for all. I don't care who you choose for me to be with, and I don't care what you say or think. I am not leaving Alex for anyone, and father, you just have to accept my relationship."

"I am NOT accepting HIM!" Antonio snapped.

"Well, I don't care what you think! As if you didn't know, I'm 25 years old! I'm a grown woman, and I can do whatever the hell I want to!"

"April, you are acting like a child, and I demand that you get rid of this scumbag before he ruins your life!" he argued.

"Excuse me, but I'm sick and tired of you calling me these names!" Alex spoke up, stepping up to him.

"You need to shut up, you are nothing but a disrespectful little bastard, that's what you are!" Antonio snapped with hate evident in his voice.

"Don't call him that!" AJ exclaimed to her boyfriend's defense.

"Oh, I'M disrespectful? How the hell do you expect me to respect you when you constantly disrespect ME?" Shelley cried, pissed off. "For April's sake, I've tried again and again to _attempt _to get along with you, but you won't even let me! So I'm not even going to bother with you anymore. I'm in love with your daughter, and that's the way things are gonna go from now on. So SIR, you can hate me all you want, I really don't care. But nothing that you could ever say or do will EVER take me away from April."

"And you can't do anything to take me away from Alex, either." April reinforced his statement, and finished it off by wrapping her arms around Alex's neck and giving him a wildly passionate kiss.

"Get your HANDS off of her!" Antonio screamed, forcefully prying them apart and then holding Alex in a tight headlock.

"Antonio, knock it off!" Lisa exclaimed to her husband.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" AJ screamed, prying her father off of him and pulling Alex away.

"You know what, I oughta call the cops on YOU for trying to kill me, that's what I should do!" Shelley cried, pointing a finger at him.

"I'll try and kill you again, punk, I'm not afraid of you!" Antonio snapped.

"That's it, I've had enough!" AJ cried.

"What are you talking about?" he demanded.

"You're impossible to deal with and I've had it. I'm moving out of this house, and I'm moving in with Alex." she announced.

"April, are you sure?" asked Lisa.

Her tone softened once she turned to her mother. "Ma, I'm absolutely sure. I need to do this and I need to get away from him."

"You know what, April, if you move in with him, then don't ever consider coming back here again!"

"I don't need you!" she spat back. "Mommy, I'll be back later to pack up the rest of my things, ok?"

She nodded.

"All right, if you're gonna be that way, then as of now, you are not my daughter anymore!" Antonio announced.

The Diva froze in place, heartbroken.

"Your brother in the military was always my favorite child, since you were always nothing but a screw up and a mistake!" he snapped.

AJ broke down in tears and yelled, "I hate you so much!" before storming out of the house.

Alex glared back at Antonio and replied, "What the hell kind of father are you?"

He grumbled and crossed his arms while Lisa sighed and stepped into another room to process everything that happened, as Del Rio smiled to himself.

Outside, AJ buried her face in her hands, before Alex joined her and immediately wrapped his arms around her. "Oh, baby, it's ok, it's gonna be ok." he said soothingly while she sobbed in his chest.

"Alex, I never should've brought you here, I'm so sorry!" she cried. "I never want to come back here again…"

"You don't have to. Chris and I are gonna help you move into our place right away, ok? Everything's gonna get better, princess." he replied, kissing the top of her head.

In the meantime, Del Rio watched everything from the window and laughed – an evil laugh at that. Oh, the fun was just about to begin.


	55. Chapter 55

**Chapter 55**

During that week, preparations were made by the Guns to help move AJ into Chris and Alex's house in Detroit, after the disaster that occurred at AJ's old place. There was no doubt that she was still broken up about her father disowning her, but the Guns – her guardians, were there for her every step of the way, and that alone always put a smile on the Diva's face. Fast forwarding to another Monday, the gang was back at another arena, where both she and Mickie learned that their titles were on the line that particular night.

In their locker room…

"Hey guys, I gotta thank you again for helping me move everything into your place. You two are absolute angels." AJ smiled, hugging them both.

"Hey, sis, it's your place, too. After Alex told me about what went down at your folks' place, it was only fair for you to live with us instead." replied Chris. "You'll be way better off, that's for sure."

"Yeah, and besides, we'll take care of ya. Before you know it, you'll feel like you've lived there for years." agreed Alex, giving her a kiss.

"Oh Guns, you have no idea how much I appreciate this. If I didn't have either of you, I'd probably be living out of my car or something. Wouldn't be the first time, anyway." she sighed, taking a seat on the bench.

Both Guns took a seat on either side of her.

"What do you mean?" asked Alex, lacing his fingers with hers.

"Well, we really never were the richest folks on the block. I remember us having to move from place to place since my folks could never find steady jobs, and, y'know, times were hard. At one point, we pretty much did live in my brother's van." she explained. "Then, once he joined the military, things started looking up. My folks found decent jobs, we were able to get a nice house…before I decided to move out."

"Oh wow, that is rough, babe." Shelley replied with a sigh. "I kinda know where you're coming from, though. I remember having to work about two jobs just to balance our income and then deal with school at the same time. At age 17, I felt like I was 35."

"Aw, Shells…" the Diva began sympathetically.

"That's bad, but I bet that neither of you could beat what I had to deal with growing up. Try picturing yourselves in a small, two bedroom apartment with a mother who eventually disappeared to become a stripper, an alcoholic father who's passed out drunk every night, and an older brother who…actually, I haven't seen him in over 5 years ever since he ran away to join the circus." he paused thoughtfully.

"Yeah, dude, you do have the saddest childhood." Alex scoffed a bit.

"So does that mean you spent your time all alone?" AJ asked, feeling sorry for him.

"For a little while, yeah. But once my pop started in bringing in random women who he each addressed as 'my future stepmother', I just had enough and bailed outta there." he continued.

"Then what happened?" she asked.

He smiled. "Simple. I moved in with Alex."

"And then my folks got so pissed that Chris and I were being these crazy smart asses, so they kicked us both out, we found jobs, and eventually we moved in our own place together." answered Shelley.

"And now I get to join ya." AJ smiled at the two of them. "Looks like the three of us really do have more in common than we think, boys."

"Well of course! We're Guns and the Guns stick together no matter what!" he exclaimed, smiling.

After that, the three bumped fists and imitated an explosion sound. "Whoosh!"

"Haha, that's always fun. So, AJ, you excited for your title match tonight?" asked Chris.

"I'm surprised that Mickie and I even need to defend our tag titles tonight. It's pretty rare to have a Championship match that's not on a PPV, but either way, I'm ready." she replied, before turning towards the door.

"What's wrong?" asked Alex.

"I dunno, it's just…I don't feel like I deserve to hold this belt anymore."

The boys exchanged confused looks.

"Why should we be the tag champs if Mickie and I barely speak anymore—no, wait, if SHE barely speaks to ME anymore? Is she still even a Gun like the rest of us?"

"Uh…" Alex shrugged, unsure.

"Hey, like I said, she's doing her own thing with Jericho, so…if she wants to move on to something new with him, we have no right to stop her. As long as she's happy, then that's all that matters." replied Sabin.

And right then and there, Mickie stopped by the room and poked her head into the doorway. She was ALL smiles. "Hey, AJ, ready for our match?" she asked.

The tiny Diva crossed her arms, confused. "…Sure. Mickie, listen, are you feeling ok?"

"What are you talking about? I feel great!" she exclaimed, taking her hand. "Later Alex, later, Chris, wish us luck out there!"

After AJ was practically dragged out, a stunned Shelley and Sabin looked at one another.

"…Weird." they concluded.

* * *

So moments later, the girls' match against Eve and Beth Phoenix (who somehow earned another No.1 contender's spot) began, and the action went back and forth for the most part. There were some great high spots from AJ and Mickie, with Beth proving her dominance, and Eve being the spoiled brat that she always was. Of course, she attempted to cheat every way that she could, to no avail. Once the match was winding up, things were about to turn crazy…

Beth attacked AJ first with a military press which transitioned into a slam to the mat. She quickly went for the cover, where the tiny Diva kicked out at two. Determined to keep her down and to win back the Diva's tag titles, the Glamazon capitalized with a slingshot suplex to the smaller Diva's body. While the blonde stared down at her opponent with a sneaky grin, AJ slowly crawled towards Mickie's corner, where, to her surprise, the Country Diva halfheartedly held out her hand for a tag.

"Mickie!" she called, desperately reaching out.

But before she could even attempt to tag in, Beth dragged her to hers and Eve's corner, where she tagged in the Latina. With a wicked smile, Eve sent a rough knee to AJ's midsection, while she was held down on Beth's knee. She yelled out in pain, but didn't give her a chance to recover before dragging her into the middle of the ring and performing a reverse STO, but before she could go for the pun, AJ fought back and managed to kick the Latina off of her, retaliating with a hurricanrana, followed by a spinning heel kick. She quickly went for the cover, but of course, Beth had to jump in and double team her. Mickie finally leapt inside of the ring to even out all of the chaos, but once she aimed for either Beth or Eve, her leg shot out and sent AJ down with a roundhouse kick!

"OH!" exclaimed the crowd.

Mickie backed away, not knowing what the hell just happened, when Eve smiled wildly and covered AJ for the 1…2…3 count.

"AH!" Eve squealed, shoving past Beth and snatching the tag title before the ref could even hand it to her, while the crowd grew in jeers and Lillian announced, "Here are your winners and the **NEW** Diva's tag team champions, Beth Phoenix, and Eve Torres!"

The referee held up both Divas' arms in victory, as both Beth and Eve laughed mockingly towards their defeated opponents, rolling out of the ring and heading up the ramp. Meanwhile, a shocked and dazed AJ sat up to send a glare towards Mickie, who strangely didn't really look that sympathetic.

When they got backstage, the Guns were the first to meet with them…

"Ah, girls, I can't believe what the hell went on out there." Alex announced, taking AJ's hand. She couldn't take her eyes off of Mickie.

"What happened?" asked Chris.

"Yeah, I'd like to know the answer to that, too. Mickie, did you screw me over on purpose?" she demanded, a little angry.

"Why would I do such a thing, April? It was an accident, I swear!" she exclaimed.

"You didn't seem that sorry."

"Look, I was aiming for one of our opponents, I didn't mean to kick you by any means necessary!" Mickie continued, before taking her hand. "But you know, maybe losing the titles is a good thing for us."

Her eyes widened. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" she asked, a little hurt.

Continuing with her odd behavior, Mickie replied by smiling, giving her a hug, flashing a smile towards the Guns, and then heading down the hall.

The three watched her head off, stunned.

"Okay…who the hell drugged her orange juice this morning?" Alex asked slowly.

"I have no idea, but I've never seen her act this strange before." replied AJ, shaking her head.

"You know what? I think that I'm going to have a little chat with her." announced Chris, an all too serious look on his face.

* * *

Meanwhile, Mickie lightly knocked on Jericho's door, where he greeted her with a smile and a huge kiss. "Aw, congrats, Mickie! See, I told you that losing the tag title is the first step to getting out of AJ's shadow. You're now the independent woman that you need to be." he told her.

She nodded. "I do feel much more liberated." she replied with a small smile.

"Good! Embrace that feeling, baby, because you deserve it. Now when Money in the Bank rolls by, all you have to do is win the briefcase, win the Diva's title, and you'll finally get your chance to shine on your own again."

"Yeah. But you're wrong about one thing."

"What?"

"I'm Mickie James. I'm nowhere near being a *scoffs* Diva. I'm a woman, and this woman intends to bring back the Women's Championship." the brunette replied, smiling confidently.

Jericho's smile echoed hers once he replied, "That's my girl. Us Champions are going to rule this place together."

"I hope we will." she replied before they leaned in to share another passionate kiss.

"Ah, I'd hate to stop all this, but I gotta head out in a few for the main event. Wish me luck, ok?"

"You don't need luck. You're the Best in the World." she grinned.

He chuckled. "Damn right, sexy babe. I love you."

"I love you, too."

Flashing her a smile, he grabbed his WWE title and headed out, with Mickie standing in the doorway and watching him head off. From the opposite direction, Sabin saw her before she could see him. "Hey, Mickie."

She turned around, smiling. "Oh hey, Chris. What's up?"

"Well, uh, I kinda wanted to ask you that. Listen, are you feeling all right?" he asked.

"Of course I'm fine, what do you mean?"

"I mean, you've changed into a totally different person lately! What's gotten into you? Did you really screw AJ over to lose the titles on purpose?"

"Accidents happen, Sab, AJ needs to realize that."

"That's bull, Mickie. You've been turning on all of us, and Alex and AJ are beginning to think that you're leaving the Guns."

"Well, is that what you think too, Chris?"

He sighed. "All I told them was that you were with Jericho, and it was your choice to be with him. Even though I hate it."

"Oh, Sab, I appreciate your concern, but everything's going great for me! Jericho's done so much for me lately and I love him for that." the Diva replied.

"But he's brainwashing you!" he argued. "Before you got involved with him, you were still our friend. He's changed you into a completely different person."

"Uh, you should talk, Chris, you were acting like a totally different person when you were keeping the secret that you had cheated on me, remember?" she challenged back.

The Detroit native was quiet for a moment, while Mickie's expression softened. "Oh Sab, I didn't mean that. I'm sorry."

"It's all right, it's the truth." he shrugged.

Then, she reached up and gave him a kiss on the cheek, before heading off.

Lightly touching his cheek, he couldn't help but to smile for her, silently deciding to himself that no matter what the others may have thought of her, she would always be his Sweet Mickie.


	56. Chapter 56

**Chapter 56**

During the week, AJ managed to move into the Guns' house in Detroit with no problem. Although she was stoked about living with her boyfriend and her 'brother', she still felt a little depressed over the last few events. Now, she was curled up in Alex's bed, blankly staring into space. Seconds later, she saw her Pikachu plushie pop up from the side of the bed, calling in a tiny, squeaky voice, "You're beautiful, pika pika!"

She laughed and replied, "Dude, that's the worst Pikachu impression that I've ever heard."

Alex rose up and smirked. "Hey, I'm trying the best I can, give me a break!"

"And you're a sweetheart for it." the Diva replied, giving him a kiss.

"Now seriously, babe, what's wrong? Don't you like it here?"

"Of course I do, I love it here! It's just…it seems like everything else is just crashing down on me. I'm estranged from my family, I lost the tag titles, and Mickie's just acting weird, it's like I don't even know her anymore." she explained, while he combed through her hair.

"I know things are going rough for you, babe, but Chris and I are doing everything we can to cheer you up again. Trust me, as long as you're here, we're gonna take good care of ya." he replied, smiling.

The Diva returned his smile.

"Plus, now that you're here, you can help pay the rent since Chris hardly ever does!" he joked.

"Hey, I resent that, dillhole." Chris announced with a look, joining them. "Anyway, do you need anything else, sis?"

"Nope, I'm good. Listen, guys, I just wanted to thank you again for everything you've done for me. Even though my life seems to be falling apart, you two are my Saving Graces." she replied truthfully.

"AJ, stop thanking us so much, we want to help you out." Sabin replied, smiling. "You're our best friend."

"Yeah, our house is yours, so do whatever you want when you want." agreed Alex.

The tiny Diva smirked and then looked around the room. "Ok, then if this is going to be a shared room between us, something has to be done with that poster over there." she said, pointing to a poster of a bikini clad Megan Fox.

"Yeah, sis, you just have to imagine the endless nights Alex had being alone in this room with her staring right at him. I've never heard so much moaning and groaning behind closed doors in my life." Chris replied, chuckling.

Alex turned red. "Shut the hell up, douche!" he snapped, turning to his girlfriend. "Don't listen to him, this happened years ago."

"I—ok, then. Well, if you want to keep her up there, then fine. But you'd have to let me keep him up." she replied, taking out and unveiling a poster of the Cuban Telenovela actor and model, William Levy. "Mmm, mmm, good…" she smiled.

"Hey, hey, that's not fair!" Shelley cried, jealous.

Chris whistled. "Wow, he's pretty good looking."

AJ and Alex shot him shocked looks.

"Whoa, I-I-I mean, in a non sexual way!" he quickly corrected himself.

"Anyway, April, I demand that you take HIM down right now." replied Shelley.

"I'll take him down if you take Megan down."

He looked at the poster and sighed, taking it down and placing it on the bed. "Done deal, I've outgrown her, anyway. I've moved on to a way better woman."

She took the William Levy poster down. "And no matter how hot William is, you're even hotter." she replied, before they wrapped themselves in a kiss.

Chris, in the meantime, patiently stood there and silently inched himself towards the bed, quickly snatching the Megan Fox poster and then sprinting back to his room to place the poster on his wall instead.

The two broke away. "…Chris, GET BACK HERE, I paid a good $5.99 for that thing online! And it was on SALE!" Alex yelled after him.

AJ laughed and turned his gaze back to her, pulling him in for another kiss.

* * *

Fast forwarding to Sunday, July 15, it was now time for the Money in the Bank PPV held in Phoenix, Arizona. Out of everyone there, the girls were the most excited due to the fact that this was their first ever Women's MITB ladder match, and they wanted to make a lasting impression over the male Superstars and the fans alike. Now, AJ, Kaitlyn, Britani, and Layla were all in the women's locker room, chatting about their big match…

"Well, ladies, are you ready to make history tonight?" asked Layla.

"Oh hell yeah!" agreed Britani. "It's about time that they gave us girls a hardcore match. Shows that we can be just as tough as the guys are."

"True that." agreed Kaitlyn. "But still, I can't help but to be a little nervous, I mean, look at what the guys have gone through in these kind of matches! We have the potential to get seriously injured out there, and I don't want my career to be jeopardized!"

AJ wrapped an arm around her. "Katie, Katie, Katie. I know, this is a guy's type of match, but if we want to prove ourselves as being more than Divas, we have to take risks and put on one hell of a show. Plus, it'll be fun!"

The blonde chuckled. "Easy for you to say, your boyfriend's already a daredevil by heart."

"True!" the tiny Diva smiled. "Layla, you sure your knee is going to be ok tonight?"

The brunette adjusted her knee brace. "Babe, I've been out for a year, training for this kinda thing. I'm more ready than I've ever been, and I intend to take the briefcase first." she smiled.

Britani replied, "Now, as much as I love competing with a fellow native of England, you're kidding yourself if you think you're taking the bloody briefcase, because with me being the youngest newcomer, I'll have the best chance of taking the prize."

Layla smirked. "Oh really? Well, may the best woman win." she said, holding out her hand.

Britani gripped her hand and they shook. "You're on."

"I'm still nervous." Kaitlyn announced.

"Katie, you're gonna be just fine! I—" AJ stopped once they all turned around to find Mickie stepping into the room. She gave them all a look, before turning to the mirror and checking her makeup.

The four exchanged confused looks.

"Um, Mickie?" Layla spoke up first. "You ok?"

The Country Diva refused to answer.

"Mickie, she asked you a question. It's rather rude to ignore." Britani added, still pissed with her for being with Jericho.

No reply.

"Mickie, why are you ignoring us?" asked Kaitlyn. "We're all supposed to be friends here!"

Mickie still never said a word, and turned to leave. Before she could, though, AJ stopped her by turning her around. "Ok, Mickie, what the hell is your problem? Why are you acting so weird?"

As a reply, she smiled, waved, and headed out of the room, leaving the girls even more confused.

"…Ok, that was awkward." concluded Kaitlyn.

In the meantime, AJ continued staring in her direction, her eyes narrowing and her arms crossed. What the hell was going on with her best friend?

...

Meanwhile, Eve, Nattie, and Beth were in another locker room, with Eve and Nattie preparing for the match and Beth admiring her title and her Diva's tag title with a proud smile on her face.

"I love being me." the blonde smiled.

"And I love that I will soon be the winner of the first ever Diva's MITB match!" Eve agreed, carrying the other tag title around her shoulder.

"Oh, what makes you so confident, priss?" asked Natalya.

"Because I'm special. I have the looks, and the skills to succeed in getting whatever I want. And what I want is that briefcase so that when the time comes, I'll be the one taking that Diva's belt from Beth over there."

The blonde sent her a look and defensively clutched onto her title.

"Bitch, please. You know that the only reason you have any power around here is because you've been screwing the GM." Nattie argued.

"What could ever make you think such a thing?" she demanded.

"I always see you coming out of his office every Monday before the show, straightening yourself up."

"I want to make sure that I look presentable!" the Latina argued.

The Canadian Diva continued, "Johnny always has that stupid grin plastered over his face."

"What, he can't be in a good mood?"

"You're disgusting." Nattie spat.

"You're trifling." Eve spat back.

"You're a whore."

"You're a BITCH!"

Nattie swung a punch across her face. "Oh, look, you're on your knees! Johnny's favorite position for you." she smirked.

The Latina growled and tackled her down, sparking a brawl between the two. Beth sighed and needed to stop this. "Girls, girls, GIRLS!" she screamed, prying them apart.

They broke away, breathing heavily.

"Had enough, ho?" Nattie called.

"You two need to save this animosity for the ring, all right? Whoever wins the briefcase will be worthy enough to challenge me for the title in the near future. Well, maybe not." Beth concluded, heading out first.

...

In the Guns locker room, Alex and Chris were preparing for their first ever MITB match, with Velvet massaging Chris's shoulders.

"Big night for all of us, ain't it?" announced Alex, taping up his wrists. "My girlfriend's gonna be in her first ever Money in the Bank match and so will we. But with me being the awesome and concerned boyfriend that I am, I'm not gonna lie when I say that I'm terrified for April out there."

"Why would you be?" asked Chris. "She's a tough little cookie."

"I know, but what if she gets shoved off of a ladder and lands the wrong way? Or what if a ladder crashes onto her and crushes the life outta her?" he asked.

"Alex, I'm sure that AJ can hold her own out there! She's had some pretty epic matches lately, so this shouldn't be any different." replied Velvet. "Although I really hope that Mickie the Witch will get crushed upon by about 5 ladders."

"Velvet, stop. That's not nice." Chris told her.

"I don't have to be nice to that wretched witch! I hate her." she grumbled.

"What I don't understand is why she's acting like she's come from another planet or something." replied Alex. "I know Velvet came from another planet, but not her."

She shot him a look and swatted her cane towards him. "Oh shut up, Shellfish!"

"Oh yeah? I'd rather be a shellfish than a HYENA!" he shouted back.

"Ok, you know what?" she demanded, stepping up to him.

"What? WHAT?" he challenged back.

Chris didn't even bother to stop them and just smiled. He knew that there was nothing that he could ever do to stop them. Then, Punk entered the room, surprised to see all the fighting. "Hey, Vel, Alex, cool it! I could hear you arguing from a mile away!"

"Blame HIM—HER!" they cried at once, moving to opposite sides of the room.

"Well, that was entertaining. Anyway, you ready for the match, dude?" asked Sabin.

"You know it! I'm Mr. Money in the Bank, remember? Two straight Wrestlemanias in a row, and I intend to bring that briefcase back into my hands once more." the tattooed Superstar replied.

"Well, you're not the only one who has experience with ladders, dude, because Chris and I've been in some pretty epic ladder matches in the past as well." replied Shelley. "We just may give you a run for your money."

"Well, I can't wait to see what you guys got in store," he paused. "…Wow, you guys realize that this is the first time the three of us will be competing against each other, right?"

Chris and Alex looked at one another and nodded.

"Yeah, I'll try not to hurt you two too much out there." Alex said confidently. "Cause I'm taking that briefcase home with me."

"Hey, dude, what if I want the briefcase?" asked Chris. "I just may have the luck to win it."

"Ok, what either of you don't get is that I don't need luck to win. Cause I'm special." Punk replied with a smirk.

"I'm special, too!" argued Alex.

"Oh yeah, well I'm the special-est!" Chris argued.

The two looked at him. Velvet giggled.

"Ok, that's not a real word. But you get what I'm saying!"

"Ok, ok, look, guys. Just try not to kill each other when you go out there, all right?" the blonde asked. "Now the girls' match is gonna start, let's watch!"

The three turned their attention to the TV in their room, while Alex smiled and cheered quietly, "Go, April, I love you!"

* * *

And moments later, the match was about to begin. Beth Phoenix, with both titles proudly in her arms, sat at ringside to scout out who could possibly be the future Diva's champion. At least, she hoped that wouldn't happen. Either way, she knew she'd beat them.

In the ring, Lillian announced, "The following match is the first ever Divas Money in the Bank ladder match! Seven Divas will start out in the ring and climb the ladder to capture the briefcase suspended above the ring. Whoever manages to successfully grab the suitcase will win a contract to compete for the Diva's Championship, and can be used within the next 12 months."

_You're not enough for me (oh, no no)_

_Just another man in love with me (Just another man, oh)_

_Gotta open up your eyes and see (hey hey, oh well)_

_You're not enough for me (oh no)_

_See, at first, I thought it was me_

_The way you flip your attitude constantly,_

_But I think I finally figured it out..._

"Approaching the ring first from Miami, Florida, Layla!" Lillian continued once the British beauty posed over the ramp, slapped the cheering fans' hands, and posed over the ring ropes once she climbed inside of the squared circle.

_Let's go hit the dance floor_

_Party all night long_

_Let's go cut the grove_

_Show that we belong_

_Let's go hit the night lights_

_Staying to the long_

_Let's go cut the grove_

_Party all night long..._

"Next, from Houston, Texas, Kaitlyn!"

The blonde smiled towards the fans before pausing. Looking up at the ring and all of the ladders scattered inside, there was no doubt that she was terrified, but at the same time, she was excited to be a part of history. Smiling once again, she joined Layla into the ring.

Next, Natalya's theme song blasted through the arena as the fans cheered for the Canadian, as Lillian announced, "Next, from Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Natalya!"

The blonde smiled towards the crowd and slapped a few of their hands, before stepping into the ring and eying down her opponents, and then grabbing onto one of the ladders with her smile growing even wider. She was stoked for this match, hoping that she'd make her family, including her father and her famous uncles, very proud.

_"I can't feel the way I did before_

_Don't turn your back on me_

_I won't be ignored_

_Time won't heal this damage anymore_

_Don't turn your back on me, I won't be ignored..."_

"Next, hailing from Norwich, England, Britani Knight!"

The British Diva crossed her arms in an X shape, as homage to her boyfriend, CM Punk. She smiled, slapping the fans' hands, and then climbed into the ring, posing over the turnbuckles before turning to face her opponents with a slight nod of her head. With her boyfriend being Mr. Money in the Bank, she hoped to follow in his footsteps by hopefully becoming Miss Money in the Bank.

_"Hey, hey, can't you see?_

_I'm a rockin southern girl runnin' wild and free_

_Hey, ya'll walkin' through the door_

_High-class style country to the core_

_HARDCORE COUNTRY!_

_Back woods or uptown_

_HARDCORE COUNTRY!_

_Rockin' your world with a thrillbilly sound_

_Hills and stones_

_Junior and Jones_

_One thing I'll always be_

_HARDCORE COUNTRY!"_

"Next, hailing from Richmond, Virginia, Mickie James!" Lillian exclaimed as the fans roared for the Country Diva. She smiled and skipped down to the ring, slapping a few of the fans hands before sliding into the squared circle, posing over the turnbuckles and then looking back at her opponents, who were giving her looks in reply. Obviously the fans didn't notice, but the girls still wanted to know why she was acting so strange.

_She looks good to me_

_She's got everything I want_

_(She's got everything I need)_

_She looks good!_

_She looks good to me_

_She's got everything I want_

_(Oh yeah)..._

Hailing from Denver, Colorado, she is one half of the Diva's Tag Team Champions, Eve Torres!"

The crowd's boos flooded the place, while the Latina posed, and then strutted down the ramp and towards the ring. Of course, with her being the spoiled brat that she was, she was terrified to even touch a ladder. It was such a…man's object. Nontheless, she joined her opponents in the ring, who were sending glares her way, especially Natalya.

"_Hundred miles an hour on a dead end road_

_I need a little Detroit in my soul_

_Every night's hotel a different name_

_It's part of the game_

_Everybody wants to be just like me_

_Fame and fortune is their fantasy_

_I gotta get back where the life was pretty_

_Rockin all the way to the Motorcity_

_Motorcity, motorcity, motorcity, I'm rockin' all the way to the motorcity..."_

"And finally, hailing from Detroit, Michigan, AJ!" Lillian finished.

Yes, although she was normally billed from New Jersey, she had requested to be billed from Detroit, since that's where her new home was. Anyway, the tiny Diva received a huge pop from the crowd and she posed her Guns sign, before smiling and slapping the fans' hands. Stepping into the ring, there was no question that she wasn't at least a little bit intimidated by her 6 opponents and the tall ladders surrounding her, but shook it off and focused on the briefcase up ahead.

The women all eyed each other down and called out threats and what nots towards one another, claiming that they'd be the first ever Diva's MITB champion, but before the fight began, the ref had to settle everyone the hell down. Once order was restored, he called for the bell to ring, and the match was on.

* * *

_**AN: Don't worry, I didn't end the match here, the match will officially begin in the next chapter.**_


	57. Chapter 57

**Chapter 57**

After the bell rang, the seven women eyed each other up and down and each thought of who to attack first, and then settled on sparking a huge brawl, attacking whoever was in their way. Eve was the first who sped out of the ring and headed for one of the ladders posted over the ramp, with AJ hot on her tail. The tiny Diva threw punch after punch at the Latina, with Natalya joining in and throwing in a few punches of her own. Eve attempted to fight back, until she was pulled back into the ring by both Divas. Meanwhile, Mickie attempted to attack both Layla and Britani at once, but the two British Divas double teamed her by kicking the Country Diva in the midsection.

Kaitlyn, Eve, and Natalya joined in the fight, as the 6 Divas were in another ringside brawl. AJ, in the meantime, climbed up the top turnbuckle, and before her opponents could think, the tiny Diva leapt off with a suicide plancha, taking down all of them in one fell swoop. The crowd roared at this, and while everyone was knocked down, Mickie scurried out of the mess of Divas and took the opportunity to snag the briefcase. Grabbing a ladder, she positioned the ladder under the pink briefcase, before quickly climbing up. Before she had reached the top, though, Eve slid in and pulled the brunette down by her leg, punching her a few times for leverage.

Mickie slid out of the ring and Eve soon followed with a bicycle toe kick. Once they were ringside, Layla and Britani slipped into the ring and each climbed on opposite sides of the ladder, aiming for the pink object above. Before they could, they tried to get rid of one another by trading quick punches across each other's faces. The action was so quick paced that their ladder tipped over, and the two British divas had to leap off before the ladder could crush them. Landing on their feet, the two kept the fight going out of the ring. Next to slide into the ring and attempt to reach the briefcase, was Kaitlyn, who positioned the ladder back to its upright position. The blonde quickly climbed up and managed to swipe at the briefcase, but didn't have a chance to do much else once Natalya slid in and tipped over her ladder.

It fell over, but Kaitlyn fortunately landed on her feet and in retaliation attacked the Canadian with a running crossbody. Kicking away at her in the ring, AJ soon looked under the ring to pull out another ladder, but she didn't see Mickie attack her from behind with a few punches to the tiny Diva's back. Dropping the ladder, she fell to the floor once the Country Diva eyed down her former partner with a smirk. Meanwhile, Natalya and Kaitlyn were still duking it out in the ring, and outside, Mickie had gone to the next level, ramming AJ in the midsection with the fallen ladder. The brunette yelled out in pain, falling to her knees, before Mickie lifted up the ladder and clocked Britani, and then Layla with the steel object.

Mickie turned around to see AJ getting back up to attack her, but the Country Diva was one step ahead, hitting her over the back with the ladder, sending her down. Eve ran in and attacked Mickie with a smaller ladder, throwing the object at her head and taking her down next. She moved ahead to punch both Kaitlyn and Natalya, using this opportunity to grab another ladder, posting it between the barricades and the edge of the ring, so that it balanced out. She definitely had a great plan in mind.

Meanwhile, Mickie stumbled up, noticing that she had a nasty bruise on her forehead, and was bleeding a little bit. Before she could do anything else, AJ got her revenge by attacking with a spinning heel kick, and in the meantime, Layla and Britani rolled themselves into the ring. Eve ran to clothesline both AJ and Mickie, but the two Divas got the upper hand by stopping her with a double suplex, sending the Latina to the ground and holding her back in pain. In the ring, Natalya and Britani traded blows once again, before Natalya took out her opponent with a double underhook suplex, sending her out of the ring.

Realizing that she had the ring to herself, she was about to head to the ladder, but once she saw Kaitlyn slipping in, she took her out with a discus clothesline. Layla slipped back into the ring and traded some more blows with Nattie, but the Canadian beauty attacked her with a front powerslam, sending her out of the way. Mickie slipped in next to attack, but she was taken down with a wheelbarrow suplex. And finally, AJ was next in line to attack Nattie, but she was the next to be taken out with a belly to back suplex. The crowd roared for Nattie's dominance, as she smiled and gestured up towards the briefcase hanging in midair. While she was basking in her glory, she didn't see both Eve and AJ take her down with two ladders at once.

With her out, the two enemies glared at one another with their ladders in hand. But before they could attack one another, they both saw Mickie climb back into the ring. The Country Diva dropkicked AJ's ladder right back into her, sending her to the ground, and once Mickie turned around, she was met with a handspring moonsault from Eve. AJ was shocked that Eve had avenged her, and once she stood back up, Eve told her some instructions, and the tiny Diva nodded along. They placed one ladder over another, and Eve instructed for her to climb to the top turnbuckle. AJ nodded and did what she was told, while Eve punched Mickie a few more times for good measure.

Once AJ was over the turnbuckle, she never got a chance to jump once Layla leapt up and shoved her off, sending the tiny Diva flying off and landing on the outside. Eve turned around to yell at Layla, but didn't see Mickie get back up and attack the Latina from behind. As revenge, Mickie grabbed Eve and suplexed her onto the two ladders, bending them clean in two. Ouch! Eve screamed out in pain, holding her back while Mickie chuckled in satisfaction. Soon after, Britani slid back into the ring and tossed the Country Diva out of the ring, before turning to Eve, who was still writhing in pain. She shoved all the ladders aside and then placed Eve onto one of them, punching away at the Latina, before climbing up to the top of the nearest turnbuckle.

The fans cheered in approval at this, and the British diva signaled to them before leaping off. Unfortunately, Eve saw this and rolled out of the way, just in time for Britani to land painfully onto the exposed ladder. While she rolled around, holding the back of her head, AJ quickly climbed up the opposite turnbuckle and leapt off, landing on the British Diva with a springboard takedown. The tiny Diva quickly got back up and grabbed one end of the ladder that Eve was also holding, and seeing Layla coming their way, the two both took her down with their ladder. Kaitlyn was seen about to climb into the ring next, but the dynamic duo that was Eve and AJ took her out next with the ladder, sending the blonde back to the ground.

For two people that hated each other, neither of them could believe that they'd have such great teamwork, as they exchanged impressed looks. Once they saw Natalya trying to climb back in, the two once again took her right back out, courtesy of a ladder to the midsection. Once all the other girls were down, they set the ladder upright and under the briefcase. Looking up and then looking at one another, Eve surprised AJ with a quick slap to the face, before rushing up the ladder. April growled, quickly climbing up the other side. The two reached the top and desperately tried to reach up and grab the briefcase, but once they both had their hands on it, they didn't see Britani arrive and tip over their ladder, sending the two Divas landing on their necks over the top rope, and the two fell to the ground, coughing and holding onto their aching necks.

The British diva saw Kaitlyn aiming to attack, but she was taken down with a side suplex. Layla, followed by Natalya, both ran in to get a piece of her, but they were both taken down by clotheslines from the raven haired Britain. Mickie was next to join in, but was being pummeled into a corner by Britani. Then, with the crowd behind her, she grabbed onto a ladder and went to attack the Country Diva, but Mickie was one step ahead, taking Britani down with a hurricanrana, sending her down and her ladder flying elsewhere. Kaitlyn ran for her again, but she was sent to the mat with a running springboard DDT, and Mickie followed by attacking Layla with an arm trap neckbreaker.

Nattie ran in to stop her, but the Country Diva took her out with a Mick Kick, and once Eve slid back into the ring, Mickie took her out with a diving tornado DDT. Finally, AJ slipped back into the ring, only to be met with a headscissors takedown.

Mickie laughed triumphantly at her ability to single handedly take out all of her opponents, while the crowd chanted,

"THIS IS AWESOME!" *CLAP CLAP CLAPCLAPCLAP* "THIS IS AWESOME!"

Mickie turned around to find Layla quickly getting back up, and went to attack her into the corner turnbuckles, but the English Beauty leapt up just in time, allowing the Country Diva to crash into the pole. Next, Layla looked up at the briefcase and smiled, before grabbing the ladder. Nattie got up to try and stop her, but Layla swung her ladder around, and in a circular motion, took out the Candian with a blow to the head. Eve was next, but was taken down in the same way, followed by Britani, AJ, and Kaitlyn. Once Layla aimed for Mickie, she ducked, and gave the English Diva a delayed dropkick, sending the ladder crashing onto her and the Divas surrounding her.

"OH!" cried the fans.

Mickie's chest heaved up and down in pure exhaustion, looking at all the carnage around her. With the fans still red hot, the brunette smiled again, before sliding in another ladder. Looking up at the prize, she began climbing up, but didn't see Kaitlyn climbing in and grabbing onto her leg. Mickie yelled at her, but didn't get a chance to react once the blonde tipped over her ladder, sending the Country Diva flying out of the ring and landing hard on the ground at ringside. Kaitlyn smiled and waved, but once she stood back up, she was met with a Sliced Bread #2, courtesy of her best friend AJ. The blonde looked back, shocked, while AJ mouthed a quiet, 'sorry', before setting up the ladder.

On the outside, Eve approached Mickie and placed her over the ladder that was suspended between the edge of the ring and the crowd barricade. Before anything else could happen, though, Mickie fought back and attacked the Latina with another superkick, before placing her onto the outstretched ladder instead. Meanwhile in the ring, AJ was climbing up the ladder, but as revenge from before, Kaitlyn shoved her out of the way and climbed instead. She really wanted her moment to shine, so instead of going for the briefcase, she turned around and saw Eve lying over the ladder. Mickie looked up and motioned for her to jump, as the crowd egged her on as well. The blonde was scared as hell, but decided that it was either now or never. Signaling to the fans, Kaitlyn leapt off of her high position on the ladder, falling about 20 feet down, and landing on both Eve and the ladder, snapping the steel object in half.

AJ looked on in wide eyed shock, as did Mickie, and Beth Phoenix, who was still at ringside, was stunned as well. The referees had to check on the both of them, who were barely moving at all and were writhing in silent pain. After a few moments, both Kaitlyn and Eve were deemed as not fit to compete any longer, and a couple of paramedics rolled out the stretchers and placed both the Latina and the blonde onto them. AJ and Mickie, in the meantime, exchanged looks, before April sadly watched Kaitlyn being strapped up to her stretcher.

Angry at this, she tossed her ladder out of the ring in frustration, but once she turned around, she was met with a wheelbarrow suplex by Natalya. Mickie leapt in to attack, but she was taken down with a second wheelbarrow suplex. After this, the Canadian Diva had on a sadistic smile, before placing Mickie's body over AJ's, and then placing them BOTH into the sharpshooter! The two Divas yelled in agony while Nattie smiled and applied more pressure, forcing for them both to tap out. Before they could, though, Britani ran back in and kicked her over the back.

Immediately letting the two go, Nattie then placed Britani into the sharpshooter. Layla was the last to step in, but was eventually placed into the sharpshooter as well. After a few moments, Nattie looked around at the four remaining Divas writhing in pain, before taking in the energy from the crowd and climbing up the ladder. When she nearly reached the briefcase, she didn't see Britani get back up with a ladder of her own, smashing it into her. Once Nattie landed back down on the mat, Britani set up her ladder alongside Nattie's, and began climbing up. The blonde quickly got back up and climbed over her ladder, and the two began trading punches, trying to get rid of the other. Finally, Britani took her out, from the top of the ladder, with a leg trap sunset flip powerbomb, sending them both flying down to the mat.

Moments later, Layla climbed up the first ladder, when Britani saw this and quickly climbed alongside her on the second ladder. The British Diva was about to repeat her same move on the English Beauty, but Layla countered by sending Britani down with a diving somersault inverted facelock jawbreaker from the top of the ladder, sending them both down again. After this, Layla slowly but surely got back up and resumed climbing back up the ladder, but once she almost reached the prize, AJ quickly climbed up the other end of the ladder, trying to reach the prize at the same time.

Suddenly, she felt a hand wrap around her ankle, courtesy of Beth Phoenix, who specifically didn't want her to take any prize. AJ jumped down from the ladder and punched the Diva's champ across the face, allowing Layla to take the distraction to her advantage by taking her out with a snapmare. Once again, she climbed up the ladder, but once she was almost to the top, Mickie climbed in and tipped over her ladder, sending the English Diva down to the mat. Smiling at this, Mickie kicked down one of the ladders, before grabbing Layla by the hair and then sending the Diva back-first into the ladder with another bridging cradle suplex.

Layla yelled out, holding the back of her head and her lower back, but so did Mickie, since she took some serious damage during the fall. After a few moments, Mickie got back up to her feet and placed another ladder upright, but held onto her back before she was able to climb. Natalya took advantage of the delay by stepping over the Diva's back and climbing up one of the ladders. Britani took notice of this and sped to climb up the second ladder, and before they reached the top, they traded punches, before Nattie lifted her over her shoulders, and leapt down from her position on the ladder, sending the British diva roughly down to the mat.

Once Nattie turned back to the ladders, she was met with one to the face once Mickie kicked the ladder into her. Once again, the Country Diva slowly climbed up the ladder, but was taken down once AJ dropkicked the ladder down, sending Mickie down as well. The fans roared for the tiny Diva, who looked up at the briefcase hanging above, and knew that she had to act fast. Setting another ladder upright, she began climbing, and swiped up at the prize.

Soon after, Mickie leapt back up and rushed to climb up the opposite side of the ladder, sending a punch across her former partner's face. AJ growled and punched her back in retaliation, and the two began trading blows before they were both nailing one another at the same time. AJ nearly stumbled off, but hung on for dear life as Mickie had one hand over the briefcase. AJ then high kicked Mickie off of the ladder, sending her down, and the tiny Diva breathed heavily, using all she could to climb to the top.

She knew that she had this match, and had two hands over the pink object, but didn't see Mickie ram the top of another ladder right at her head, sending her flying off. Mickie set her ladder back up and climbed with all she had left in her, and with the fans roaring, had both hands on the prize. Finally, she managed to unhook the briefcase and screamed in triumph, holding the pink object over her head, victorious!

While her theme music blasted through the arena, Lillian announced, "Here is your winner, Mickie James!"

The crowd roared for the Country Diva while she leapt down from the ladder, and before the ref could even hold her arm up in victory, she rolled out of the ring with her arms protectively wrapped around her prize, continuing to cheer for herself once she ran up the ramp. AJ and the other Divas were exhausted beyond belief, but AJ was the most angry and disappointed out of them all. She glared at Mickie, holding her head with one hand and using the other hand to ball into a fist. It was official – Mickie was the first Diva to win the MITB match, was guaranteed a title opportunity during the next year, and she loved every minute of it. She could _not_ wait to meet with Chris Jericho backstage.


	58. Chapter 58

**Chapter 58**

After the end of the brutal match, AJ was helped backstage by a few trainers until Alex took over. He sighed heavily and wrapped her in a hug. "Oh, baby, you did amazing out there. I'm just so glad that you're still in one piece." he said, kissing her forehead.

"Yeah, you feeling all right, sis? You took some crazy bumps and falls back there." added Chris, placing a hand on her shoulder.

She nodded. "I'm ok. I'm hurting all over, but I'll be all right." she mustered a smile. "Did you guys see how Kaitlyn was doing?"

"We have no idea, the paramedics just rushed her backstage and down to another room." replied Shelley. "I can't believe she took that fall, is she insane?"

"That's what I'm wondering!" AJ agreed. "But I'm just really bummed that I was this close to winning, but failed."

Alex pulled her in for another hug, while Velvet stepped in and replied, "AJ, don't be! You were a part of history, you were one of the only Divas to ever compete in a Money in the Bank match! I'm sure the other guys back here have one hell of a lot more respect for you girls now."

She looked up. "That's true. It does feel nice doing something that's never been done before."

"That's absolutely right, and you have no reason to be disappointed, because we're all proud of ya." Chris agreed, tassling her hair while she giggled.

"Thanks, you guys. That really cheered me up." the tiny Diva nodded. "So, you guys ready to head out there for your first MITB match?"

Chris and Alex looked at one another before nodding.

"Well, we know that we're in for a world of pain, but the Guns can handle it. And I'm pretty sure that I'll win." Shelley smiled.

Sabin shot him a look. "I'M gonna win."

He scoffed. "No, you're not."

"Oh, and what makes you think that I wont, dillweed?" he demanded.

"Because I WILL!" Alex cried.

"GUYS!" Velvet stopped them. "Just put on a great show like you usually do, ok? But for the record…" she paused, giving Chris a kiss. "I'm rooting for you to steal the briefcase."

He smiled and replied, "See, I've got my own support system."

"Oh please, you really expect to be motivated by the blonde hyena here?" Alex replied, turning to her.

"You're a tool!" Velvet snapped back.

"I'd try and break you guys up, but I'm too sore to do so." AJ announced, lying on the couch.

But before anyone could leave, a still smiling Mickie stopped by their room. "Hey, people, you are in the presence of a future champion."

"Well, uh, you did an excellent job out there, so uh…congratulations." Alex replied, unsure.

"Yeah, nice work." Chris nodded, smiling a little.

She flashed him back a small smile in return, before replying, "Thank you."

"Too bad that poor Eve and Kaitlyn had to be wheeled out on stretchers when it should've been you." Velvet replied flatly, flipping through a magazine.

"Aw, Vel, are you just jealous that I actually won something that you could never possibly win, even if your pathetic little leg were healed? Or maybe you're just jealous that I'm an all around better person than you are." the Country Diva replied with a smirk.

"You know what, bitch?" the blonde snapped, storming up to her before Chris had to hold her back.

"Vel, now's not the time, ok? Just cool it!"

Mickie laughed triumphantly. "You can't touch me. And you know what, I couldn't have won this beautiful briefcase without the help of Chris Jericho, my mentor and my lover."

Sabin rolled his eyes, but shook it off.

"So uh, off to celebrate my win! Later!" she exclaimed, heading off.

"…Ok, so is it just me, or has Mickie changed from confusing to an egomaniac?" announced Alex.

"Trust me, it's not just you. I don't know what the hell's gotten into her lately." AJ sighed.

* * *

In the meantime, CM Punk was looking over his girlfriend Britani in their locker room, who was hurting just as much as the other Divas were…

He massaged her lower back while she lied down over the bench. "Let me know if I'm hurting you, babe."

"Ah, you could never hurt me, darling. Ooh, a spot to the left, please."

He chuckled. "No problem. And I want you to stop beating yourself up about not winning, because in my eyes, you are a winner."

"But I wanted to follow in your footsteps and become Miss Money in the Bank!" she exclaimed. "It's so unfair."

"Hey, stop it." he paused, looking into her eyes. "Miss Money in the Bank or not, you busted your pretty little ass out there and showed to me and everyone out there that you have the passion and the heart to go for whatever you want, no matter what it takes. And for that reason alone, I love you."

The British Diva smiled. "Oh, Punkers, I love you, too. And I want to be out there to support you during your match and to make sure that certain guys out there don't screw you around."

"No. Absolutely not, Britani."

"But why not?" she whined.

"You've just been through the roughest match in your career, and if you think that I'm letting you go back out there where you could potentially hurt yourself even worse, then you're crazy."

She chuckled. "But I am crazy."

"And I dig crazy chicks like you. But the bottom line is, you're not going out there and that's that." the tattooed Superstar replied surely.

"But—"

"THAT is THAT." he finished.

"Fine, you don't have to be so bloody harsh, Punkers." the Diva replied with a smirk.

"Hey, I am what I am, beautiful. So, congratulate me when I return with the coveted briefcase, ok, babe? I'll win this one for the both of us."

"I know you will, handsome. But seriously, be careful out there, all right? I couldn't afford to have anything terrible happen to you."

He smiled and gave her a kiss. "I'll be fine. But if worst comes to worst, we'll suffer in pain together."

She grinned back. "I'd love to suffer with someone like you."

"And I, you, babe. See you in a few!" he replied, heading out.

"Please, be careful!" she called after him.

Meanwhile, Mickie had run into Jericho in the hallway, where she was met with a tight hug and a passionate kiss from her boyfriend.

"Ah, Mickie, I am SO proud of you!" he exclaimed. "You are so amazing, I knew that you could do it!"

"Baby, I couldn't have done it without you!" she smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Hey, I only want the best for you. Now the next and final step, is becoming the champion. So uh, you gonna fill me in on when you're gonna cash in?"

"Hmm…all I'll tell you is that I'm waiting for the right opponent. When the right time comes, you'll see." she smiled.

"Awesome. So, you gonna be there when I scout out my potential opponent during the next match?" asked the Canadian.

"I sure will. But you know what? Whoever wins the briefcase sure isn't gonna take that title away from you. You're the Best in the World, and things are gonna stay that way for a long time." the Country Diva replied.

He smiled and gave her another kiss. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

"C'mon, you need some well deserved rest, so let's head out to watch the next match from ringside." Jericho announced, taking her hand.

"Sweet, let's go!" she agreed.


	59. Chapter 59

**Chapter 59**

Moments later, it was just about time for the guys' Money in the Bank match to begin, with both Chris Jericho and Mickie sitting at ringside. What craziness would go down this time?

"_I'm here to show the world_

_I'm here to show the world_

_Come on!_

_Bring it on..._

_Do what I say, better watch what I do_

_Better heed the warning I'm here to give you_

_If you ever doubted me, you don't have a clue_

_I'm here to show the world_

_I'm here to show the world..."_

Dolph Ziggler arrived first with his pink shirt and posing at the top of the ramp, while Lillian announced, "Approaching the ring first from Hollywood, Florida, weighing in at 213 pounds, he is one half of the WWE tag team champions, Dolph Ziggler!"

The crowd sent tons of boos and jeers his way, while he strolled down to the ring in his cocky fashion. Once he saw the ladders everywhere, though, he paused and nodded in approval before climbing into the ring. It was a fact that he hadn't been in as many ladder matches as his opponents, but with him being the Showoff that he was, he was there to prove them all wrong.

_"Hundred miles an hour on a dead end road_

_I need a little Detroit in my soul_

_Every night's hotel a different name_

_It's part of the game_

_Everybody wants to be just like me_

_Fame and fortune is their fantasy_

_I gotta get back where the life was pretty_

_Rockin all the way to the Motorcity_

_Motorcity, motorcity, motorcity, I'm rockin' all the way to the motorcity..."_

"Next, hailing from Detroit, Michigan with a combined weight of 420 pounds, Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin, the Motor City Machine Guns!" Lillian exclaimed as the fans roared for their favorite team. Well, they wouldn't be a team tonight, since they had no choice but to fight each other for the suitcase suspended above. The two stood back to back and posed their 'Guns' sign, before slapping hands with the fans and sliding into the ring. Ladders were their comfort zone, so this was going to be fun for them both.

"_Look in my eyes, what do you see?_

_The cult of personality_

_I know your anger, I know your dreams_

_I've been everything you want to be_

_I'm the cult of personality..."_

"Next, hailing from Chicago, Illinois, weighing in at 218 pounds, CM Punk!"

The cheers and roars continued from the crowd once the Straightedge Superstar yelled, "IT'S CLOBBERIN TIME!" before heading down the ramp and climbing into the ring. With him being a two time Money in the Bank winner, he was certain that he'd extend his wins to a third time that night. In short, this match was all his.

*BOOM!*

"_The wonder of the world is gone I know for sure_

_All the wonder that I want I found in her_

_As the whole becomes a part I strike to burn_

_And the flame returns…"_

The arena was illuminated in red while the Big Red Monster slowly strolled down the ramp next.

"Next, standing at 7 feet tall and weighing in at 323 pounds, from Parts Unknown, Kane!" she exclaimed.

The four competitors in the ring eyed down the tallest and scariest man there, as Kane looked up and eyed his opponents down in return. Then, he raised up his arms and after a dramatic pause, threw them back down at the same time the four corner poles in the ring spewed out flames.

After the flames died down and the lights came back on, Alberto Del Rio's theme was heard last, and Ricardo Rodriguez came out and announced, "Señoras y señores, vas a estar en la presencia de uno de los más grandes luchadores que jamás haya pisado en esta tierra. Él es mayor de lo que nunca será, y he aquí él viene el uno, el único, ALBERTOOOOOOOOOO…DEL…RIIIIIIIOOOOOOOOOOO!"

From the side of the ring, Del Rio drove up in a 2013 Lamborghini and smiled his million dollar smile while he strolled up the ring. But before he could even make it to the ring, Shelley, who was still angry about his role in April's family situation, sped out of the ring and attacked him right then and there, with Chris right behind him. Punk leapt out and pummeled at the Mexican aristocrat, as he tried to fight all three of them off. Ziggler rushed out and tried to take out Shelley, Sabin, and Punk with a few punches, before Kane joined the fray and dominated by shoving them all into the audience barricades.

With them on their knees or on the ground, Kane headed back to the ring, while Punk ran to stop him with a few punches to the back. Chris ran their way and gave him a few punches of his own, along with Alex. Next, both Guns dragged Kane over to the side of the ring and managed to send him down to the mat with a reverse STO by Shelley, combined with a jumping enzuigiri by Sabin. The fans chanted, "MMG! MMG! MMG! MMG!" at ringside. But since they were all in such a small space, both Alex and Chris had taken some damage, too, evident by the pain in their expressions.

Meanwhile, Ziggler was pulling in a ladder from inside the ring, when Punk kicked the ladder upwards, sending the top of the ladder crashing into the blonde's jaw.

"OH!" everyone exclaimed.

Dolph yelled out, falling to the mat and covering his face. Next, Punk climbed into the ring, to be met with Del Rio, who began throwing a slur of punches and kicks at the Chicago native and cornering him. Punk fought back with a few Mongolian chops, followed by a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker, eliciting cheers from the crowd. In the meantime, both Alex and Chris stood over the ring apron, about to attack. Chris exclaimed that Alex was in his way and Shelley argued that he needed to stay out of his way, and the two were quick to trade punches, not seeing Punk leap off of the top turnbuckle, roundhouse kicking them both off of the ring apron and onto the ground.

Punk turned back to Del Rio and kicked him a few times, before launching himself off of the top rope with a suicide dive, landing in both Guns' arms and taking them all down. The three were about to get back up, but were taken down once again with a second suicide dive by Ziggler. Next, Del Rio followed suit, even though he wasn't a high flyer at all, and dived out of the ring, taking all of his enemies down in one fell swoop. When Kane slowly stood over the top turnbuckle, the others looked on wide eyed, really not wanting a 300+ pound monster to land over them. The crowd stood to their feet, and cheered once Kane leapt off and landed over all of them, leaving bodies sprawled all over the place.

Kane was the first to get back up and soon grabbed a ladder from underneath the ring, climbing inside afterwards. Punk had climbed inside to try and stop him, but Kane rammed the ladder into the Straightedge Superstar's midsection, taking him down. Dolph leapt in next, but was whacked in the face once again by the swinging ladder. What Kane didn't see, was Shelley perched on top of the corner turnbuckle, who sent both Kane and his ladder down with a devastating superkick. Once Alex landed in the ring, he yelled out and quickly grabbed his knee, rolling around. He sure as hell had hoped that he hadn't tweaked it. He shook it off and got back up with the ladder in hand, and then saw Sabin approaching.

Before he could attack, Shelley rammed the ladder into his partner's midsection, as he doubled over in pain. Once he looked back up and tried to get back at his friend, Alex got the upper hand by once again ramming the ladder at his opponent's head, taking him down. Shelley had an almost sadistic smile on his face once he held up his weapon, and then looked down at Del Rio, who had just climbed into the ring.

"You want a piece of me NOW?" Alex yelled, before dropping the ladder onto Del Rio's body.

But his smile was soon wiped off of his face once he felt Punk grab him from behind and attack him with a slingshot somersault senton, sending the Detroit native down and his ladder flying out of the ring.

Both men were writhing in pain, but Punk stood up first and reached out to grab the ladder from outside of the ring. He then placed it upright and began to climb towards the briefcase. He didn't get very far, once Kane emerged once again and grabbed his throat in preparation for a chokeslam off of the ladder, but the tattooed Superstar managed to counter into the Anaconda vise. Kane tried not to tap out, but even if he did, it wouldn't count him out. Punk knew that it was a no disqualification match, but he didn't care because if he could weaken them down by submission, the easier it would be for him to climb the ladder without interruption.

While Punk was occupied, Del Rio kicked CM over the back, where he angrily let go of Kane and punched the Mexican a few times, before he locked him in the Anaconda Vise next. The aristocrat was forcing himself not to tap out, but the submission didn't last long once a vengeful Kane grabbed the ladder and clocked Punk in the head, immediately letting Del Rio go and grabbing his own head.

Kane smiled that evil, crazed smile of his, and grabbed Punk by the arm, dragging him to the middle of the ring. Before he had a chance to escape, Kane placed the ladder down and placed Punk's arm in between the two halves of the weapon. After that, Kane continuously slammed the top half of the ladder over Punk's arm, again and again, and finally stopped once Punk slid out of the trap and grabbed his aching arm, yelling in agony.

The Big Red Monster smirked at this, but once he turned around, he was met with a cross-legged Samoan driver by Sabin, taken down to the mat. The fans cheered once both Guns were in the ring, each with ladders in their hands. Alex nodded towards Chris, who nodded back towards him, and when Kane got back to his feet, both Guns sandwiched him between both ladders, sending the 7 footer back down to the ground while the fans cheered in approval. The two did their own 5 second pose, but once they turned around, they had no time to react once Ziggler leapt into the ring and took them both out from behind with a leg drop bulldog. The Showoff attacked Shelley with a few more punches, but then caught Chris holding up his ladder, and took the advantage by dropkicking the ladder onto Sabin, taking him out.

Shelley wanted to avenge his friend by attacking Ziggler some more, before he headed to set a ladder against the corner set of turnbuckles. Next, he grabbed the bleach blonde's arm, and swung him across the ring to where he crashed back-first into the ladder. On the other side, Shelley took in the energy from the crowd, right before he sped towards Ziggler. Unfortunately, he slid out of the way, allowing Alex to crash headfirst into the ladder. Dazed, he slumped to his knees and then crashed to the canvas. Ziggler laughed triumphantly at this, before he reset the ladder and then picked up Shelley, placing him against the ladder. After a few moments, Ziggler stood back for a second, before leaping onto Shelley's prone body with a crossbody. With the Detroit native temporarily out, Dolph looked around to make sure that nobody else was up, and then turned to Jericho at ringside, gesturing to him and then the briefcase up above. The Canadian smirked and shook his head in reply.

The Showoff grabbed the ladder and positioned it under the prize dangling above, just barely reaching it. Next, Del Rio climbed on the opposite side of Ziggler's ladder, trying to grab the briefcase as well. In came Sabin with his own ladder, trying to fight away the two other men and trying to reach for the coveted prize. The three traded punches as Punk climbed on the opposite side of Sabin's ladder, wanting a piece of the action, too. Sabin tried to fight him off, but Punk used his good arm to Irish whip the Detroit native in the chest. Alex grabbed yet another ladder and joined in the fun, climbing up and trying to fight away the four other men in order to reach the black briefcase just inches above them.

The crowd was on their feet as they watched the determined Superstars all clawing away at one another for the win, with various hands reaching up to grab the swinging item. Finally, Sabin managed to hold Punk in a headlock, leaping them both off of the ladder and causing Punk to land on his bad arm, with Sabin landing painfully on his back. Del Rio was kicked off next, leaving both Shelley and Ziggler as the two men left over the ladders. Dolph punched him in the gut a few times, as Alex pounded him over the back, trying to send him flying off. Once Dolph got a good hold on him, he took him down about 10 feet with a devastating scoop powerslam.

With those two out, Del Rio got back up and began shoving the other ladders out of his way, before trying to climb his. He didn't even get a chance to do that, once he caught Sabin ramming him in the side with another ladder. After that, the Detroit native placed that ladder in an upright position against the first one, right before slamming Del Rio's head again and again against the upturned ladder, and then giving him a swinging side slam backbreaker for good measure. With him out, Sabin climbed the ladder and reached up for the briefcase, but didn't have a chance to even blink once Ziggler SPRINTED up the upturned ladder and nearly speared Chris off of his high position on the ladder, sending him out of the ring and Ziggler down and in pain.

The crowd applauded the amazing display of athleticism, all while Ziggler slowly made his way back up the ladder, and tried again to reach for the prize. Del Rio leapt back up with his ladder and jabbed the Showoff in the midsection with it, but the aristocrat was soon taken down with a big boot by Kane, who finally made it back into the ring. The monster then turned around to find Ziggler stumbling up, and turned around to be met with a chokeslam, being sent over the ropes and out of the ring. When Kane was turned around, Jack Swagger made a surprise appearance there to try and help Ziggler out.

Kane couldn't even attack back, because once he turned around, he was met with a German suplex by the 6 footer. Next, Swagger set up another ladder and helped pull a dazed Ziggler inside of the ring. He motioned for him to hurry up and climb, but the bleach blonde was too disoriented to do so, so he pretty much flopped onto the side of the ladder. He limped and tried to climb, and then Swagger assisted him by lifting him onto his shoulders and climbing the ladder, giving Dolph easier access to the briefcase.

But that idea didn't work, once Kane got back up and clotheslined Swagger out of the way and out of the ring, leaving Dolph standing over the ladder with his hands on the prize. The Big Red monster climbed up the other side of the ladder and tried to pull Ziggler down, but Dolph punched away at him. Next, Kane jumped off and decided to tip over the ladder, with the blonde furiously shaking his head 'no', but Kane didn't give a damn since he did it anyway. Dolph and the ladder fell over, with the Showoff falling out of the ring and landing in Swagger's arms, taking them both out.

The fans cheered at this, and Kane began setting up all of the ladders once again, before climbing up. Sabin recovered after his fall from before and climbed the same ladder, too. The two tried to fight each other off, but their combined weight managed to tip over their ladder as well, and the two followed Ziggler's fate once they fell over the top rope and out of the ring. Kane slowly rolled back in, while both Punk and Shelley came back in with their own ladders in tow. They apparently had the same idea, once Alex set up his ladder in one corner of the ring, with Punk setting up his in the opposite corner. Then, they slowly but surely climbed up while the crowd lit up and stood to their feet, and faced the briefcase that was still dangling in midair. They glared at one another, before turning their attentions to the prize, thinking that they could maybe leap onto the object and retrieve it from there.

The two posed for the crowd, before simultaneously leaping off of their ladders, flying nearly 15 feet in the air, but instead of grabbing onto the briefcase, they roughly crashed into each other, before landing on Kane. The three men were more than beat up, as Shelley tightly grabbed his aching abdomen and rolled around, and Punk screamed after landing hard on his bad arm, squirming around in agony. Fighting through the pain, both Alex and Punk managed to get back up and then focused their attentions back onto the case up above. Grabbing their ladders, they slowly climbed up, with Sabin soon joining in with a ladder of his own.

Kane shot back up to a sitting position, and then turned around to climb the opposite side of Shelley's ladder, where he clocked Punk in the face and then held both Shelley and Sabin in a double choke hold. The two quickly fought him off with quick punches of their own, with Punk joining along until Kane lost his balance and fell off of his ladder, to the mat.

Finally, the three friends were left surrounding the briefcase, and looked at one another before reaching towards the case and then trading punches at one another. Punk was determined to become a three time MITB winner, while both Guns wanted to be first time winners. Neither of the three saw Del Rio come from out of nowhere with a steel chair in hand, first jabbing Punk off of the ladder, causing him to land once again on his bad arm. He squirmed around and screamed in intense pain, fearing that his arm or shoulder was broken. The Guns were too busy fighting over the case to even notice, but Del Rio snapped them out of their fight after whacking Sabin across the back with the steel chair, and then doing the same with Shelley, who fell off of his ladder and landed right over Sabin's body.

At the end, Del Rio climbed up and easily unhooked the briefcase for his second ever MITB win. The crowd erupted in boos while the Mexican grinned wildly, rolled out of the ring, and then sped up the ramp, with Ricardo right by his side.

"Here is your winner, Alberto Del Rio!" Lillian announced.

At ringside, Mickie had her arms around Jericho while the WWE Champ smirked and slowly clapped his hands. As long as Punk didn't win, he was all smiles. Mickie, on the other hand, felt a little guilty seeing Sabin in pain while she herself was there living the lap of luxury with Jericho, just a few feet away from the Detroit native.

Back in the ring, Punk was still writhing in pain, while two disappointed Guns angrily watched their enemy run off with the prize. Well, Alex was more pissed than anyone.

* * *

Backstage after the match, both exhausted Guns returned to their locker room to meet up with their respective girlfriends.

"Oh, guys…I'm so sorry that you didn't win." AJ sighed, giving Alex a hug.

"Ow!" he exclaimed, her grip hurting his waist.

"Whoops, sorry."

"No harm, no foul. Sorry we let you down, baby." Shelley replied.

"Yeah, it was fun, but I don't think we've been in anything more brutal before." Chris agreed, giving Velvet a kiss.

"Well, as long as you're all right, that's all that matters." the blonde smiled. "Hey, how's Punk doing, anyway?"

"He went to the trainer's room to get his arm checked out. His arm's pretty f'd up, just hope that he didn't break it." replied Alex.

"Aww, poor Punkers. Well, this night's been rough for everyone, so I say we head straight home for a night of pure relaxation." announced AJ. "And nonstop Grand Theft Auto."

"NOW you're talkin'!" Alex smiled, grabbing her hand. "C'mon, guys, let's visit Punk to make sure he's ok, and then get the hell outta here."

Once Chris and Velvet headed out first, Alex and AJ followed, but slowed to a stop once they ran into Del Rio.

AJ tightened her grip on Alex's arm, while Shelley glared at him, not saying a word.

The Mexican smirked. "Guess what, Alex Shelley? I stole this briefcase from you."

No reply.

"And trust me, this is only the beginning. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon enough, I WILL steal your woman from you as well." he grinned. "Have a good evening."

After he headed off, Alex wanted to go after him and tear his head off, yelling, "You'll NEVER have April, you son of a bitch!"

"Alex, Alex! No, forget him, he's not worth it." AJ replied, holding him back.


	60. Chapter 60

**Chapter 60**

The next day, the gang headed back to the newest arena for the next episode of Raw. Now that MITB was over, Summerslam was right around the corner, and the hype for this year's Summerslam matches were in full effect…

That evening, the Guns were in a match against the current tag team champs, Dolph and Dave Batista. Ziggler pretty much let Dave the powerhouse do most of the work, with Ziggler slipping in every now and then to attack one of the Guns with a few cheap shots, because he was still hurting from the ladder match the previous evening. Despite his cheating efforts, Alex and Chris managed to get the upper hand over the two and once the match was winding up, Dave climbed into the ring to try and powerbomb Shelley, but Sabin managed to stop the muscled Superstar in his tracks with a tilt-a-whirl headscissors takedown. Dolph stepped in to attack him in retaliation, but Alex stunned him with a swinging fisherman suplex. With the Showoff stumbling around, Shelley and Sabin finished him off with one of their double team moves. Sabin attacked first with a spinning heel kick, followed by a superkick from Shelley, finishing him off with a simultaneous jumping enzuigiri by Sabin combined with another superkick from Shelley. Finally, Alex covered him for the 1…2…3 count.

As they were announced the winners, they celebrated their victory with the fans, but didn't see Alberto Del Rio sliding in the ring and taking them both down from behind. The fans sent their boos towards Del Rio, but then began cheering once AJ sped down the ramp and towards the ring. Making sure that the Mexican didn't see her, she quickly went behind the announcer's table and picked up two chairs, quickly sliding them in the ring so that the Guns could use them. The cheers began once again once Alex and Chris grabbed the steel chairs and repeatedly whacked Del Rio over the back and sides, causing him to fall to his knees in pain. After that, Chris held Del Rio in a standing reverse headlock, allowing Shelley to climb up the top turnbuckle, signal to the fans, and then leap off onto the aristocrat's body, taking him down.

As the Guns' theme music blasted through the arena, the crowd chanted, "MMG! MMG! MMG!" while AJ lead the boys out of the ring. Looking at a pissed off Alberto from the ramp, the three Guns smiled and raised their 'Guns' signs in the air. But Del Rio wasn't moved. They sure as hell weren't getting away with this!

* * *

Meanwhile, backstage, Velvet was walking down the hall to the vending machine, where she ran into none other than Chris Jericho.

She gave him a look. "Oh, it's you."

"Nice to see you too, Velvet." he said flatly.

"Hmm."

"Jeez, what crawled into your bra?" he asked, taking a soda from out of the machine.

She shot him a look.

"Ok, sorry I asked." he replied, turning away.

"Look, you just keep your little whore of a girlfriend away from Chris, all right?" she demanded.

He stopped and turned back to her. "Uh, my what of a girlfriend?"

"You heard me. She is a whore."

He chuckled bitterly. "Ok, I know you're not talking about my Mickie, right?"

"Oh, that's exactly who I'm talking about." the blonde replied. "I don't want her around my boyfriend anymore, so keep her on the leash that she needs to be on."

His eyes narrowed. "Says the girl who –rumor has it- whored herself ALL over the TNA locker room. Bit of advice, sweetie – keep those pretty little legs of yours closed, all right?" he said with a smirk.

She gasped, insulted. "You bastard. You don't know anything about me!"

"And I don't want to know anything about you. The point is, don't you ever speak about Mickie that way ever again." he replied. "Besides, I specifically told her that she couldn't see Sabin anymore, anyway, since she's with me now. Plus, you shouldn't be concerned with Mickie, you should be concerned with your boyfriend. He already cheated on Mickie, what makes you think that he won't do the same to you?"

"Chris loves me." she replied, crossing her arms.

"So he says, Vel, " he began, patting her shoulder before he walked away. "So he says."

Confused on what the hell he meant, Velvet raised an eyebrow, slowly shaking her head.

* * *

Later that night, Punk was able to win a Number one contender's match in order to face Jericho at Summerslam, and hopefully regain the title that he had missed so much. After his match, he was back in his locker room with Britani.

"How's your arm feeling, Punkers?" asked the British Diva.

He moved it around and winced. "Not much different from yesterday, I'll tell you that. Hurts like hell."

"Well, the trainers said that you might have a separated shoulder, and I still think that you shouldn't have fought tonight in the ring. Too much pressure on that arm of yours is just gonna make things worse."

"But when have I let injuries plague me? I just won my number one contender's match, and all the pain I went through, was totally worth it. I can't wait to get my hands on that little prick and to get my title back." the Straightedge superstar replied.

"And I'm bloody glad that you've won, darling," she smiled, giving him a kiss. "But still, I hope that your arm'll be better by Summerslam."

"Eh, it should be, but even if it isn't, I'm a warrior and a rebel. If they tell me that I can't fight, then I'll just fight anyway. Hell, if Jericho rips my arm OFF, I'll keep fighting!" he exclaimed while she giggled.

"You are so badass and I love you that way."

"Hey, you're just as badass as I am, so I get to love you more." he smiled, leaning in to give her a kiss. "I'll be right back, gonna go out to get us a couple of Pepsi's, K?"

"K!" she called back once he headed out.

When he turned down the hall, he found none other than Chris Jericho and Mickie, with her pink MITB briefcase in hand.

"Hi, Punk." Jericho smiled. "Just heard the news. Looks like you may be the next one to be competing for this beautiful title right here."

"Damn right. And don't count me out just cause my arm's a little f'd up, I can still kick your ass with two arms tied behind my back." the tattooed man replied with a cocky smirk.

He laughed. "I admire your confidence, dude, very nice."

"But there's no way that we're letting you win." Mickie added with a smirk of her own.

Punk glared at his former friend, before replying, "You know, you two make a terrible couple. And Mickie, I thought you were smarter than this. You made a terrible choice by thinking that this sham of a man was good enough to go out with. I mean, I know that you're upset that Sabin cheated on you that one time, but don't punish yourself with Jericho, I mean, come on."

She snarled towards him, but was surprised to see an angry Jericho attack Punk from out of nowhere, punching him and sending a few kicks his way. Next, the Canadian had a confident smirk upon his face before he grabbed Punk's injured arm and twisted it back, causing him to yell out in agony. The Country Diva looked wide eyed, seeing the pain on her former friend's face, and even felt a little guilty. "Chris, come on, that's enough. Stop." she told him.

He chuckled and finally let him go, leaving Punk seething in pain and tightly holding his arm.

"You're lucky that Mickie's here, Punkers, or else I would've snapped that arm of yours in half." Jericho replied, taking Mickie's hand and leading her away rather quickly.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the Guns locker room…

"Thanks for coming out there when you did, AJ, or else Del Rio would've nailed us." announced Sabin.

"Of course! You think I'm going to let that jerk attack my boyfriend and my brother?" the tiny Diva replied, sitting on Alex's lap.

"You're the bestest, baby." Shelley smiled, giving her a kiss.

Chris laughed. "'Bestest'? Dude, you watching those PBS kids shows again or something?"

"Shut up, dillhole, I can say whatever the hell I want to!" he snapped.

"Oh, stop PMS-ing and take a chill pill." Sabin replied. "Wait, where'd Velvet go?"

"I dunno, she was here before I ran out to save you guys." replied AJ.

"Maybe she got those fake hair extensions stuck in the door again." Alex chuckled.

"That wasn't very nice, Alex." Chris replied.

"Who said that I was nice?" he smiled back.

Soon enough, the blonde entered the room with a distracted look on her face, Jericho's words still buzzing around in her head.

"Vel?" called Chris. "You ok?"

She shook it off and perked up. "Yeah! Yeah, I'm fine!"

"Well, where'd you go?"

"Just out to the vending machine. So uh, what's going on here?"

"Oh, we were just talking about taking a ski trip for a couple of days." announced Alex, getting surprised looks from his friends.

"We weren't talking about that." replied AJ.

"Well, we are now! I just thought of it! We need a little break, at least 2 days off, so why not spend it upstate going to some resort in Vermont somewhere?" he asked.

"Hey, that's not a bad idea." agreed Chris. "We don't have anything planned here for the next few days, so it'll be nice to get away from everyone for a little while, right?"

"Yeah, it sounds fun! I'm in!" agreed AJ.

"Well, I'm really not too fond of snow, since I live in Florida, but what the hell, I'm in." agreed Velvet.

"Awesome! I say as soon as the show's over, we head back to the hotel, and we'll leave first thing tomorrow morning!" exclaimed Alex. "And we shouldn't have any problems there, trust me."

...

Later the next day…

The four of them arrived in Vermont, to this beautiful hotel which overlooked the snow capped mountains.

"See, friends? This will be nothing short of…" Alex began, but froze once they all saw Chris Jericho and Mickie turn the corner and find the four of them there as well.

"…Crap." Jericho muttered.

"Sab?" Mickie asked quietly.

"Mickie?" Chris asked back with a small smile.

"Chris!" Velvet snapped sharply, nudging him.

And as if that weren't enough, CM Punk and Britani turned another corner to find all of them there, too!

"Punkers!" Britani cried.

"JERICHO!" Punk yelled, ready to charge for him.

"Punk." Jericho smirked.

"Alex!" AJ cried, turning to him.

"…Paradise." Shelley finished with a sigh.

Oh what a fun day this was going to be.


	61. Chapter 61

**Chapter 61**

At the now crowded ski resort…

"What are you all doing here?" Velvet exclaimed, most specifically towards Jericho and Mickie. "This is supposed to be a nice, relaxing trip!"

"Well, how the hell were we supposed to know that we all had the same idea?" demanded Y2J. "We were here first, so you guys better rent another bungalow."

"Like hell you were! We were here before you were!" Sabin snapped.

"Well, TOO BAD!" Jericho exclaimed. "This is Mickie's and my paradise, so SCRAM, all of ya!"

"You have absolutely no right to scream at us that way!" Punk exclaimed. "Besides, after the way you nearly tore my arm off last night, you should be thrown in jail for assault!"

"Yeah, who's to say that we won't just call the cops on you right now?" agreed Britani.

"Jericho, did you really do that last night?" AJ asked, surprised. "Come on, how low are you?"

"Hey, I was just trying to send him a message that he will never take my title away from me! That's it! I bet if any of you were in my position, you'd all do the same!" the Canadian exclaimed.

"We wouldn't hurt friends in order to win something, dude, and we sure as hell wouldn't _brainwash_ others into being someone that they aren't." Sabin replied, alluding to Mickie and looking right at her.

She looked back at her ex with understanding eyes, touched that he was still worried about her.

Jericho looked back at Mickie, smirked, and then grabbed her hand just to drive Sabin crazy. Of course, he did feel that sense of jealousy right then and there, but Velvet snapped him out of it.

"Chris, babe, just ignore him, all right?" the blonde replied, giving him a kiss. This time, Mickie was the one who cringed in jealousy. Instead of feeling sorry for herself, she decided to take her frustrations out on Velvet once again.

"Hey, Vel, let the man breathe, why don't you. God only knows where those lips have been."

She whipped around and turned to face her. "You need to leave me the hell alone, bitch, you're just jealous because Chris has moved on to someone more in his league, unlike some trailer trash looking hick from the south!"

Mickie gasped and then snapped back, "At least my hair, lips, and boobs are real, you're nothing but silicone and plastic, honey!"

Velvet charged towards her and screamed, "YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT ME, BITCH!"

Sabin had to hold her back while Jericho did the same with Mickie.

"TRY ME, WHORE! TRY ME!" the Country Diva screamed back.

"Come on, Sabin, why don't you keep that chick of yours on a leash?" Jericho exclaimed with a smile.

Still trying to hold Velvet back, he snapped, "You're a damn loser, that's what you are!"

"Oh, I'm a loser? I'M a loser?" Jericho asked, before letting Mickie go and charging towards the Detroit native. "I'll break your arm like I nearly did with Punk's!"

"Oh yeah? Is that what you're gonna DO?" Sabin yelled back, letting go of Velvet and tackling him down, allowing the girls to fight as well.

"I knew we should've gone to Pizza Hut instead." Punk said flatly.

Meanwhile, AJ turned to see Alex fuming. "Uh…babe?" she asked, nervous.

He grunted, grabbed a skillet from the kitchen, and repeatedly banged it against a nearby table. "Stop it, STOP IT, _**STOP IT**!"_ he screamed, finally getting the attention of everyone. "Now, LISTEN UP! This trip is supposed to be a relaxing and enjoyable experience for all of us, even if some of us hate one another. So to solve this issue here, you four will stay apart for the duration of our stay, so we shouldn't have any other problems. We're here to have fun, DAMN IT, and we will! So everyone just shut up and have a good time!"

As a reply, Punk and Britani quietly headed outside, Velvet dragged Chris to another room, and Jericho led Mickie somewhere else.

Alex chuckled, satisfied with himself. "Heh heh. I rule."

AJ giggled and gave him a kiss. "Gosh, Shells, I had no idea you could be so…dominant. It turns me on."

He smiled and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Just one of my many talents. You wanna know another one of my many talents?"

She kissed him again. "What?"

"I'm—I'm an accomplished skier!" he announced.

The Diva lit up. "Really? You never told me that before!"

"Well, I am!"

"Sweet, let's go outside and see some of your moves! Maybe you could teach me a few and we could rock the slopes like ninjas or something!"

He paused for a moment and soon replied, "That sounds great, baby, but first…you wanna make a snowman?"

Raising an eyebrow, she asked, "Huh?"

Grabbing her arm, he said nothing and quickly whisked her away.

Meanwhile…

"Oh, the nerve of that condescending little bitch!" Velvet hissed, slamming the door behind her once she and Sabin were in another room. "What were you thinking when you were dating her, Chris?"

"Vel, just let it go now, all right? What's done is done."

"No, I will not let it go! Why the hell didn't you defend me when they were both insulting me?" she demanded.

"I—I didn't want to make things any worse!" he argued.

The blonde slowly shook her head. "That's not it. Chris, you had the chance to hurt Mickie like she hurt you. You could've backed me up and called her a name or something, but you kept your mouth shut the entire time."

He crossed his arms and just looked at her.

"Tell me something. Were you…afraid of hurting Mickie's feelings?" she asked.

Sighing, he replied, "I'm not gonna lie to you, Vel. Mickie still means a lot to me and I just don't have it in me to hurt her. Besides, I already did enough as it was by cheating on her, so why would I want to do any more and make things worse? She's still my best friend."

"But I am your girlfriend, and I'm supposed to be first in your life, not her!" the blonde argued.

"I can't just shut her out of my life like you want me to!"

"But you chose _me, _Chris, you wanted to be with me! You can't just change your mind so quickly!"

"I did choose you because Mickie was so quick to run away with Jericho, so that's that, all right?" he asked, a little annoyed.

"So what you're saying is that you chose me as the rebound girl?" she demanded, insulted.

"No! It's just…it's too hard to explain, you wouldn't understand."

"Oh, I understand. I understand completely. You know what? I think you and I need an hour apart, and then when we meet back up, we'll put all this behind us like nothing ever happened, ok?" she asked.

He nodded. "Great idea. See you around." he replied, heading right out.

Velvet was surprised that he had left so quickly, and just flopped back down on the bed with a frustrated sigh.

In another room…

Jericho had just finished giving Mickie a slow, yet passionate kiss, while he lied above her on the bed. His blue eyes gazed into her brown ones, before going on to remove her shirt. Before he could, though, Mickie lightly pushed him away. "Not now, Chris, I'm really not in the mood." she sighed.

"You sure?" he asked, concerned. "Everything ok, baby?"

"Ugh…not really. I just hate Velvet more and more with each passing day, that's all."

The blonde kissed the top of her head and brushed away a strand of her hair. "Don't let what she said get to you. She's just saying all this crap because she's jealous."

"Jealous of what?"

"That you're 100 times the woman she thinks that she is. That you've accomplished more than she ever did. That you have a stable relationship with me while hers with Sabin is probably falling apart." he explained.

She couldn't help but to smile at the last statement. "Hmm."

"Besides, if Shelley hadn't stopped that fight earlier, I sure as hell would've made her pay by breaking Sabin's arm like I almost did with Punk."

At that point, she snapped out of it. "That's too much, Chris."

"Wha? Mickie, of all people, I'd do this to him for you! Wouldn't you love to watch him suffer like he made you suffer?"

"That's different! I don't want you attacking him and getting him hurt, he doesn't deserve that!" she exclaimed.

"Don't defend him, he's the enemy!"

"No, Velvet's my enemy. Sab is my friend. My best friend."

He raised an eyebrow. "Mickie, babe. I thought that you and I had discussed this already. You can't be around him anymore, he's just going to break your heart again, and that's the last thing that you need."

"But I can't just keep him out of my life forever, Chris! He is an important part of my life and you can't keep me away from him."

The blonde sighed and defeatedly tossed an arm in the air. "Fine, Mickie. Go on back to him and let him break your heart once again! Just remember that I tried to warn you."

She glared back at him. "Fine. I'm taking a walk outside."

Before she could leave, he got up after her. "Mickie, no. No, please don't leave, I'm sorry. I love you."

The Diva turned back to him and everytime she had heard him say that, her features softened and she gave him a kiss. "I love you, too. But I still want some time alone. See you later."

And after she left, Jericho sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Damn it…"

While Mickie headed downstairs and looked for the exit, she was surprised to nearly run into Sabin. "Oh!...Hi." she smiled a little.

Looking down at her, he returned her smile. "Hey. Everything all right?"

"I dunno. How about you?"

"I dunno." he repeated. "So uh, were you headed outside?"

"Yeah, I needed to take a walk to sort out my thoughts."

"Turns out that I was just about to do the same. Mind if I join ya?" he asked.

Her smile grew bigger. "That'd be nice. Let's go."

He grinned and held the door open for her, following her out into the cold weather.


	62. Chapter 62

**_AN: For some reason, I never really update on the weekends and I never knew why, lol. Anyhoo, here's a special Saturday update, peeps._**

* * *

**Chapter 62**

"…So Velvet was getting on your nerves too, huh?" Mickie asked Chris as the two were walking down a snow-covered path.

"She wasn't getting on my nerves, but…you know when you want somebody to just stop before they ask one question too many?" he asked.

She chuckled. "Yes! They have no idea that they're just making things totally worse!"

"Exactly! Is Jericho giving you the same problem?"

"Well, not really, I just hate this rule of his that says that you and I can't even see each other. I mean, what's the big deal? You and I are only friends, that's it!"

He frowned a little. "Yeah. Just friends." he sighed, disappointed.

She turned to him, feeling bad. "Chris…"

"No, no, I need to stop moping around and realize that it's over between us. As much as I can't stand Jericho, you seem happy with him and I just need to respect that. I'm just glad to see a smile on your face again."

"Thank you. See, that's why you're such a great friend, Sab. And…I know how hard it is for you seeing me with him. For the record, it's just as hard for me when I see you with Velvet."

He turned to look at her. "Really?"

"Mm hmm. What, you didn't think that I still had feelings for you, too?"

The Detroit native shook his head. "No! I—I thought that you were so happy with Jericho that…I was just an afterthought."

"Are you kidding? Sab, you'll never be an afterthought in my life! In fact, I still lo—" Mickie was cut off once Alex's voice in the background called, "HEY!"

They whipped around to find both him and AJ making snow angels in the field.

They laughed. "What do you want, dude? Don't you have an angel to make, you wussy?" Chris called back.

He and AJ ran to meet up with them. "Oh shut up, you'd do the same. Anyway, what's all this here?" Shelley asked, gesturing to the fact that he and Mickie were together.

"Mickie…does this mean that you're on our side again?" AJ spoke up. "Cause you've been acting really strange lately."

"Look, things happened, but…I guess I still have a little bit of the Guns' spirit inside of me." she smiled a little.

"Really?" she asked, hopeful.

"But aren't you supposed to be with Jericho somewhere?" Alex asked, confused.

The Diva shrugged. "Maybe. Doesn't mean that I can't still hang out with a friend, though." she replied, turning to look at Chris.

"Ditto." he agreed with a nod.

"Well, well, well. In that case…" Alex began, before throwing a quick snowball towards the two, who ducked just in time.

"DOUCHE!" Chris yelled back, throwing a snowball back at them in return. "Mickie, you're on my side, right?"

She reached down and scooped up a snowball of her own. "Let's pick em clean, Sab."

"YOU'LL NEVER TAKE US ALIVE!" AJ exclaimed, running back and then tossing snowball after snowball towards the two. Alex followed her lead.

"Good move, baby, let's get some distance!" he called, tossing his arsenal of snowballs towards his opponents.

"Running away, are we?" Chris called back, dodging a snowball and then throwing one. "Don't be a couple of cowards—OOF!" he exclaimed once one hit him square in the face.

"Chris! Damn you guys!" Mickie laughed, but before she could attack, two more snowballs hit her. "Ow!"

"HA! TASTE MY FROZEN FURY!" Shelley exclaimed, firing away.

"Mickie, what do you say we show them what the Machine Guns are really about?" Chris asked.

"Let's crush em." she nodded in agreement, a sly smile on her face.

And so the fight continued. Snow was flying everywhere, all four of them were hit again and again, but despite their valiant effort, Chris and Mickie managed to win once they saw their opponents covered in snow.

"You want some more?" Sabin exclaimed, high fiving Mickie.

Alex sat up and grumpily spat out some snow. "Dillhole." he muttered.

AJ lied down on her back and didn't bother getting up from her fixed position. "You guys are mean." she pouted.

They laughed.

"Sorry, better luck next time!" Mickie called.

"Yeah, you two have fun cooling off, Mickie and I have things to do." Chris agreed.

"Oh? What kind of things?" Alex asked, curious.

"…THINGS." he clarified. "See you later."

Once they walked off, Shelley helped AJ up while he asked, "Is this a sign of things to come? Are they really on the path to hooking back up?"

"Hmm, as much as I wish it were true, I doubt it. They're just friends, nothing wrong with that. But luckily for us, we get to be more than friends." the tiny Diva smiled, giving him a kiss.

"Damn right, my little snow angel." he smiled. "And on another note, we should've won that snowball fight! Isn't there a superpower somewhere in the book regarding snow of some sort that we should have?"

"Hah! I wish there was! But wouldn't that be super cool?" she exclaimed. "Besides, don't get your hopes up. I got bit by a spider the other day and I was hoping to gain some sorta spider-like powers from him. No luck."

"Aw! Do you know how sexy it would be to see you climb up walls and shoot webs from your palms? Jeez, I'd take you right then and there." he said with a grin.

"Haha, I'd use my webs to trap you and to keep you as my love slave." the Diva agreed.

"Damn! You're hardcore." Shelley chuckled, kissing her. "So, what do you want to do now?"

"Teach me to ski!" she lit up. "Look, Punk and Britani are doing it!"

Alex looked up to find the happy couple sitting on one of the chairs suspended above, before holding hands and jumping off, skiing down the tall hill.

Terrified, Alex paused once again and had to change the subject. "Uh, that sounds great, but I was thinking that we go sledding first!"

"Sledding? But what about—"

"Last one to the top of the hill's a Wild Snorlax!" Shelley exclaimed quickly, speeding ahead and dragging her along.

"Huh?" she cried, confused.

* * *

Meanwhile, Mickie and Chris were chatting it up so much, that they walked a great distance from the gang's bungalow, not aware that a huge snowstorm was also on its way there…

"We totally owned AJ and Alex back in that fight. I'm so gonna rub it in to them once I see em again." Sabin chuckled.

Mickie laughed. "Yeah, that was fun! I guess that means that we still have our unmistakable chemistry, don't we?"

"Yeah, we do." he agreed, wrapping an arm around her shoulders while she leaned into him. "You know, we always did make an awesome team."

"I loved tag teaming with AJ, but you were also my favorite tag team partner, too." the Country Diva replied.

"Aww, I blush!"

"So, tell me, Chris. Who's your favorite tag partner? Me or Alex?" she asked.

He paused for a moment. "Uh…can't I—"

"You can't choose both."

"Damn. Fine, then you know who my favorite tag partner is? My imaginary friend, Raymond, all right?" he joked, eliciting a laugh from her.

"Your imaginary friend Raymond?" she asked, skeptical. "Yeah, and I own a magical pink unicorn named Junebug."

He laughed in reply. "Are you mocking me? Are you REALLY mocking me? Mock THIS!" he cried, tossing a surprise snowball at her.

She yelped. "Oh! How DARE you, Chris, you're totally gonna get it now!" she exclaimed, quickly rolling another snowball and firing it right back towards him.

"Hey, you almost got my eye! I thought we were on the same side here, Mickie!" he laughed, aiming another snowball right at her.

"You threw the first shot, you—you BOY, you!"

"Is that really the best comeback you have?"

"Shut up, I'm cold!" she giggled, half serious.

"Hmm. Now that you mention it, it does feel like it dropped about 15 degrees. You want to head back inside now?" he asked, secretly hoping that she wouldn't. The last hour or so that they'd been spending together was the best hour that he's had in a while. Little did he know, she felt exactly the same.

"Sure." she replied, turning around to realize that she had no idea where they were exactly. "Uh Chris?"

"Yeah?" he asked, just as surprised.

"How long have we been walking away from home?"

"Heh. I thought you knew." he replied with a nervous chuckle. "So now what do we do? We gotta find someplace to stay cause I heard that there was supposed to be a snowstorm on its way here."

"Seriously? Well, maybe it won't come for another hour or two, so we'll probably make it back before then." Mickie replied, taking his arm and leading him away…until it began snowing.

"Oh look, it's snowing!" Chris pointed out with a smile.

"It's just a little sprinkle. Nothing major."

Then, the snow began falling harder, along with the huge gusts of wind picking up, too.

"Aah!" the Diva exclaimed, instinctively hiding herself in Chris's arms.

He wrapped his arms around her once he replied, "Ok, this is major. There's no way we're gonna be able to make it back home in time."

"Well, where else do we go until the storm stops?" she asked.

He looked around to find a cave up ahead. "Over there, come on!" he exclaimed, leading her away.

* * *

Meanwhile…

"WHEE!" AJ cheered once she and her sled slid down the hill. "Alex, where are you?"

"AAH! Help, help, how the hell do you stop this THIIIIIINGGG?" he cried, tumbling down the hill and finally landing headfirst in the snow, with his sled joining him soon after.

She laughed. "You failed."

He spat out some more snow and looked at her. "I did not fail. I owned this hill until my sled decided to betray me!"

"Excuses, excuses." she shook her head.

"Oh, you don't believe me? Hey, hey, Punk, Britani, I need your input on something." he called to them.

"What's up?" she asked.

"This better be good, because the last time we gave you an input on something, we were ignored and then I was somehow chased down the road by this deranged truck driver singing 'Crazy Bus'." replied Punk.

Shelley chuckled. "Oh yeah. Good times…"

"So?"

"So what?"

"What input do you want?" Punk demanded, brushing away some snow that sprinkled over his head.

"Oh, right. Does the fact that I slipped and rolled down this hill like a log without my sled count me as a failure?" he asked.

Punk and Britani looked at one another before bursting out laughing.

"There's your answer, Shells." AJ smiled.

"Hey, don't laugh! It isn't nice." he pouted.

They were still snickering.

"You know, you guys can stop now."

"Sorry." the British Diva replied, chuckling. "But if you had so much trouble with your sled, let me see what the problem is, chap."

He handed her the sled, where both she and Punk grew smiles upon seeing it.

"Stop it." Shelley muttered, embarrassed.

"Dude. This isn't a sled." the Straightedge Superstar stifled his laughter.

"Shut up!"

"This is a—a jumbo sized Frisbee!" he exclaimed before he and Britani bursted out laughing once again.

An embarrassed Shelley turned to find AJ laughing as well. Shocked, he sent her a look before she stopped.

"Sorry."

"Look, the sled store was out of sleds, so this is what I had to settle for, okay? I'm not cheap!" he argued.

"Your call, dude. Look, maybe you guys better head back inside soon, word going around is that there's supposed to be some huge snowstorm blowing in." Punk announced.

"Yes, Punkers is going to make me my very first hot chocolate!" Britani exclaimed. "I heard that it was all the rage here in America."

"Ooh, save us some, please!" called AJ.

"Will do!" Punk called back as they headed off.

"I'M NOT CHEAP!" Alex called after them.

"Shells, forget it. Cheap or not, I still love you." the tiny Diva replied.

"Aww, well I love you, too." he smiled, kissing her. "So uh, you want to head inside before this storm begins?"

"No. Not until you teach me how to ski. Unless you want to stall and do something else instead."

"Uh…"

"Alex, tell me the truth. You don't know how to ski, do you?" she asked.

He nervously twiddled his fingers. "…No."

"Why lie?"

"Cause. I wanted to impress you."

"Aw, babe, don't be embarrassed. How about this: before we go inside, let's you and I learn to ski together. That way, you won't feel so bad anymore, ok?"

"Ok, I totally understand, but—"

"Great, let's head over to the ski lifts!" she exclaimed, dragging him along.

"April, wait, you want to settle for some ice fishing first?" he called in protest.


	63. Chapter 63

**Chapter 63**

Chris and Mickie managed to settle themselves into the cave that they had found, but had no idea how long it would be until it was safe to head back home…

"Ok, we should be safe in here for now." Sabin announced. "That is, until the rescue teams arrive to find our corpses."

"Chris, don't say that!" Mickie exclaimed.

"Sorry. Just trying to lighten the mood."

"We're going to be fine, I know it. The snow and the wind's going to lighten up, and soon enough, we'll be on our way back." she said with a nod.

"Wow, you're really optimistic about this. Y'know, that always was one of the things that I admired about you."

She flashed him a smile. "Thanks. I just have to be positive about this, because nothing bad will happen to us, I'm sure of it. Wow, what's a cave like this one even doing here?"

"I know, right?" Sabin asked, pacing the spacey corridor. "This is the hugest cave I've ever been in. Well, it's the only cave I've ever been in for more than 5 seconds."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, years ago when I was back in school, my class and I went on a field trip to explore some bat caves. When I first heard about it, I was stoked and I couldn't wait to be there. But uh, when the day came, I never realized how huge that cave was, and the next thing I knew, I was totally separated from the rest of my class." he explained.

"Oh no! I know you were scared." Mickie said, touching his arm.

"Heh, try mortified. And wait, it gets better. When I'm running around, looking for everyone, I run into the worst part of the cave, where TONS and tons of bats start spazzing out and circle all around me, and I'm there screaming my lungs out in pure terror. And uh…once I finally find my way outta there, I run into my entire class, pointing and laughing at me the whole time for acting like a total wuss." he said with a sigh.

"Chris…" Mickie sighed along, sympathetic. "You were afraid, they had no right to laugh."

"But they did. For the whole rest of the month, they wouldn't let me live it down, I kept seeing bat references everywhere and it just scared me. It scared the hell outta me. So, Mickie, that's why I'm not too fond of being in these kind of places."

"Sab, that's a very traumatizing experience to deal with, but you can't let what some dumb kids did keep you afraid for the rest of your life. You're sitting here in a cave now and I don't see you running away, do I?" she asked with a smile.

"Well, I can't just leave. This is the only shelter we have and I don't want to leave you behind."

Her smile grew bigger. "Listen, hun. The past is the past, and it's meant to be left behind. You were scared, so what? Everyone's afraid of something, it's only natural. Take it from me, I know from experience. Once, when I was 5, I really got into horses and that's when they became my favorite animals. And when my 6th birthday came, you should've seen the look on my face when my folks allowed me to get riding lessons. I was the happiest little girl. So when I did ride my first horse, things were going great – until he bucked me off and I landed pretty roughly on the back of my head."

His eyes widened. "Oh my God, were you all right?" he asked, shocked.

"At first, no. Turns out that I had a pretty rough concussion and I was out for the next few days. But when I finally came to, I was terrified of horses from then on. I was afraid that if I'd ever get on one again, the same thing might happen again, or maybe even worse. But you know what? One day, I decided that I couldn't be afraid of my favorite animals just because of some freak accident that happened. So I climbed back on one and rode like it was no tomorrow." she smiled.

"Wow. You were just as much a fighter back then as you are now." Chris smiled, his hand resting over hers.

"Mm hmm. So that's my point, Sab. Even if you're afraid of something, you just have to face it once more and it'll never bother you again. Case in point, are you afraid of caves now?" she asked.

He looked around. "No bats, nice, roomy atmosphere,…you, I think I'll like it in here." the Detroit native replied, the smile never leaving his face while her smile grew brighter.

* * *

Meanwhile, AJ managed to drag Alex to the ski lifts, despite his protests, for a skiing lesson…

"See, Shells, won't this be lots of fun?" the tiny Diva asked while they were both slowly being lifted in the air. "And I think that the fact that we're both learning how to ski together makes it even more fun!"

Meanwhile, Alex shakily nodded before looking down below from their chair. "Y-Yeah, lots of fun."

"Alex? You ok?"

He quickly turned to face her with a bright smile. "Yeah! Of course, why wouldn't I be?"

"I dunno, you seem a little…tense."

"Tense? Who's tense? Nobody tense over here!" he exclaimed quickly.

"Baby, are you afraid of the heights or something?" she asked.

He looked down again. "Well, can you blame me? Look how high we are already! Didn't we just get on this thing?"

She looked down. "Alex, we're barely off of the ground and we've only been on for 5 minutes."

"It's only been that long? I thought it was at least 30!"

"Hey, I didn't think you were afraid of heights!" AJ exclaimed, surprised. "How come you never told me?"

"It's not that I'm afraid of heights, it's just…you know that Sonny Bono dude?"

"Cher's late husband, yeah. What about him?"

"Well, he went skiing before, slipped and crashed headfirst into a tree and died on impact! I just don't want the same fate to happen to us!"

She gave him an affectionate look. "Oh, Shells, you can't think that way. What happened with him was a tragic, freak incident, but it doesn't have to happen to everyone who skis. You and I are in this together, and I know that we'll be fine."

"You really think so?" he asked, hopeful.

"Of course. Besides, I'm terrified of heights too, but I'm up here with you and I feel totally fine."

The Detroit native smiled and grabbed her hand. "I wouldn't have even gone through with this if it weren't for you."

She smiled back.

"Besides…what if in some crazy, never-really-gonna-ever-happen kind of way we slipped off of this lift and fell into some toxic waste pit and attained superhuman powers?"

AJ giggled. "But that couldn't ever possibly happen in a place like this."

"I know, but wouldn't it be awesome?" he asked with an almost delirious kind of smile.

"Oh, hell yeah it would. Now kiss me." she replied while he wrapped his arms around her slim waist.

"Mmm…best ride ever, huh…?" Alex muttered between kisses.

"Mm hmm…and nothing could possibly ruin this moment." AJ muttered back.

But of course, right then and there, they were nearly jolted out of their chair when the ride stopped short and quite suddenly. "AAH!" they shrieked, holding onto one another.

"Uh—uh…what the hell just happened?" the Diva uttered, pulling Alex closer to her.

"I-I don't know, but…" he began, cautiously peeking down below to see that they were about 40 feet from the snow covered hill. "Oh, MY _GOD_, how the hell did we get so high up here?" he began freaking out.

"O-Ok, Alex, babe. Just don't look down anymore and it won't seem so scary. I'm sure this is just-just some sort of malfunction." she tried to calm both herself and her boyfriend down.

"_Uh, attention, folks, we have a small problem here. We've experienced a little issue with the ski lifts and we may be stuck up here for…3 hours at the least….Then again, I'm not really sure. Well, we'll try and get it fixed as soon as we can, and uh, we'll try to get you all down before the snowstorm really hits. Have a great afternoon!"_ a voice exclaimed on the intercom.

Shocked and terrified, AJ and Alex looked at one another before crying, "We're gonna DIE!"

* * *

Back in the cave…

"Man, storm's really getting worse out there." Chris announced, looking outside. "Looks like we might be in here for a while."

"Oh, but we can't! Jericho's probably waiting for me and he's probably worried sick!" Mickie exclaimed, while Chris narrowed his eyes a bit.

"Yeah, Velvet's probably feeling the same, too. She wanted for us to spend just an hour apart before we met up again, and it's been what, 3 hours?"

"I bet Velvet started the argument." the Diva smirked.

"Please don't bring it up, Mickie." he sighed.

"But she always starts everything and expects others to take the blame for it! Remember back at Alex's party? Now I admit that I was wrong for fighting, but Velvet kept talking and talking and SHE tried to rile me up! So a couple of days later, she tries to turn all of you against me by making ME look like the bad girl here!" she exclaimed. "Has she always been this much of a spiteful bitch?"

"Mickie, will you please just stop?" Chris demanded, his voice raising a little.

"You don't want to answer because you know it's true!"

"No, I don't want to answer because she's my girlfriend and I love her!" he replied, to where Mickie recoiled and looked a little hurt.

"Of course she is. She's always been your 'soulmate' anyway, I should've known."

"Well, how about you and Jericho? You and him have this history together and you apparently don't see the fact that he's brainwashing you!" he argued back.

"For the last time, he's not brainwashing me! I don't know where you've heard such a ridiculous thing, but you're wrong." she replied.

"No, YOU'RE the one who's wrong for not seeing it! He's turning you away from your friends, he's turning you away from me, he's changing you into someone that you don't even know! You're living a life that you don't deserve to be in, and it's only going to hurt you in the end."

"You don't know what's going on between Jericho and I, Chris!" she exclaimed irritably. "For your information, Jericho's making my life better! He cares about me, and he's been there for me more than anyone else has been lately. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have won the MITB briefcase, I wouldn't have broken away from being in AJ's shadow all of the time, and I'm finally the woman I used to be! I feel more—more liberated!"

"Oh, so you're saying that being with the Guns was like being in prison for you, then. Thanks." he said flatly, crossing his arms.

She sighed. "No, I didn't mean it that way. I love the Guns, but I also wanted my time to shine. Don't you get it, Chris? I couldn't be in a tag team with her forever. I want to be a singles champion again."

"And we would've let you do what you wanted and supported you all the way, but you didn't have to turn to Jericho to do it!"

"Jericho loves me and I love him." she replied hastily, heading towards the cave's exit.

"Mickie, where the hell do you think you're going?" he demanded, going after her.

"Where do you think? I'm heading back home to show Jericho that I'm all right."

Chris rushed to her and grabbed her arm. "I'm not letting you go back out there, it's too dangerous!"

"Let me go, Chris!"

"No, I want you back in here!"

"I have to get going!" she snapped, trying to pull away from him.

He tightened his grip on her and grabbed her other wrist to keep her inside. "Mickie, stop fighting me on this, I'm trying to keep you here where it's safe!"

"Chris, for the last time, LET ME GO!" she screamed.

Sabin quickly looked behind her and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her inside just in time. "MICKIE!" he shouted, the both of them falling to the ground.

"Aah!" she squealed. Then, they both slowly turned back to find a huge pile of snow blocking the cave entrance completely. They were silent for a few moments, trying to process what just happened, before Mickie turned back to him and uttered, "We're trapped."


	64. Chapter 64

**Chapter 64**

About an hour passed by and the storm was getting worse and worse around the resort, while a freezing Alex and AJ were still sitting upon the suspended ski lift…

"April?" Alex asked, still holding his girlfriend close to keep her warm.

"Yeah, Alex?"

"Are we dead yet?"

"S-Stop asking me t-that." she replied, shivering.

"But…I feel like I'm already dead." he uttered. "I c-can't feel anything."

"Me n-neither, b-but it doesn't mean that we're d-dead." she implied.

"How l-long have we been up here?" asked Shelley.

"I don't know, I-I lost t-track about an hour ago."

"An HOUR?" he demanded, springing up and accidentally tipping their chair over.

"AAH!" they screamed, holding onto each other for dear life. Once the chair stopped rocking, Alex continued, "Oh, I can't b-believe that this is th-the end. We n-never even g-got to say goodbye to Chris or Mickie, or Punk, or Britani, or my cousin Ronnie, or Gram Gram…"

"Alex—"

"I never pictured m-myself going out like this. As a f-frozen corpse suspended 40 feet above the ground. I-I guess in a way, they could donate my-my body to science, so that o-others could take the se-sexiness that I have to o-offer. Of course, they'll never be as sexy as I am n-now."

"Alex—"

"Or m-maybe they could unthaw me 100 years into the f-future and I c-could become the dictator of whatever's left of this planet if it had already e-exploded or not." he rambled on.

"Al—"

"You a-and I never even got to h-have sex one l-last time, baby."

"ALEX!" she cried.

"What?"

"Just sh-shut up for a sec, because we're not gonna d-die, all right?" she asked.

"What m-makes you so sure?"

"The guy s-said that he'd get this thing moving in no time, and he knows t-that he can't keep us and all of these other people up here f-forever. S-So, all we gotta do is tough it out and wait here until it's safe to move again." she explained.

"April, it has been an HOUR! There is no way t-that we are getting down from t-this deathtrap alive!" Alex argued.

Now, she was getting annoyed with his stubbornness. "Well at least I am TRYING t-to stay p-positive here, Alex, unlike YOU!"

"What u-use is there for being p-positive when we're j-just gonna DIE anyway?" he demanded.

"We are NOT gonna die!" she cried back.

"YES, we are!"

"NO, we aren't!"

"YES, YES, YES!" Shelley cried, his eyes widening.

"NO, NO, NOOOOOO!" AJ screamed back, once their excessive movement caused the both of them to slide completely off of their seat, fall 40 feet down to the snow, and with their skis on their feet, slid all the way down the steep surface.

The two skied for their very first time, screaming their lungs out in terror the whole time.

"WATCH OUT FOR THAT TREE!" Alex screamed.

"AAH!" AJ squealed, covering her eyes while both she and Alex swerved around opposite sides of the tree with ease. Next after that, they ran into their next obstacle.

"WATCH OUT FOR THAT BOULDER!" Shelley screamed again, but this time, the two had no time to dodge it as they pretty much stumbled over the boulder, causing them both to free fall/roll down the rest of the hill, finally stopping once they reached the bottom. Their skis had flown off of their shoes and were jetting from the snow, while they sat up, spitting out snow. They looked at one another, trying to recover from their little ride, and then smiles slowly grew across their faces.

"That…" began AJ.

"Was…" began Alex.

"EPIC!" they cheered, laughing.

"Oh my God, I don't think that either of us was expecting that!" the Diva exclaimed. "Wasn't that so much fun?"

"Hell yeah, that was awesome!" Shelley agreed. "And the best part of it is, we finally learned how to ski!...Sort of!"

"Yay for us! And um, Shells?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry I was freaking out at you earlier."

"No, no, I'm the one who should be apologizing to you for being such a spaz. I'm sorry." he replied, smiling.

She returned the smile. "Apology accepted. I still love you."

"And I still love you, too. Come here." Alex said, leading the brunette into a passionate kiss that temporarily warmed them both up despite the bitter cold that they were in. "C'mon, we had our fun, and it looks like the storm's getting worse, so let's head inside for some hot chocolate."

"Yum!"

But once they were headed back to the gang's bungalow, they were surprised to see Velvet rushing towards them with a worried look on her face.

"Vel? What's going on?" asked AJ.

"Have either of you seen Chris? We had a little argument earlier and he was supposed to meet me back here hours ago and I haven't seen him! Where is he?" she asked.

"You still haven't seen him yet? Well, the last time we saw him, he walked off with Mickie." Alex announced, to the wide-eyed shock of Velvet.

* * *

Back in the cave, Chris and Mickie were desperately trying to find their way out of their trap…

"HELP!" Mickie screamed towards the clogged entrance. "HELP, PLEASE!"

Meanwhile, Chris was sitting near the back of the cave, a little bit tired of hearing Mickie screaming for over 45 straight minutes. "Mickie, Mickie, come on! Give it a rest." he sighed.

"No, we have to get outta here and there has to be somebody out there that hears me!" she snapped, before turning back. "HELLO? ANYONE OUT THERE? PLEASE HELP, WE'RE TRAPPED!"

"If anyone had heard you by now, we'd already be outta here, so isn't it obvious that there is NOBODY OUT THERE?" Sabin replied, standing up.

"Oh shut up, Chris, at least I'm trying!" she exclaimed, turning back to him. "You haven't done anything but sit on your ass the whole time!"

"Cause screaming your lungs out for an hour won't solve anything!" he argued. "Once our friends realize that we haven't come back, they'll come looking for us."

"But how the hell are they supposed to know that we're trapped in a freaking cave?" she demanded. "Don't you understand, Chris? They are not going to find us unless we catch their attention first."

"Ok, fine. You do your thing until you finally realize that nobody comes and your voice gives out, while I do my own thing."

"And just what kind of thing is that?" she asked, her hands on her hips.

He pondered for a moment. "This." he replied before using his hands to try and claw all of the snow away.

"What are you doing?" the baffled Diva asked.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm trying to self-shovel the snow out of our way and maybe we'll have a split chance of getting outta here." the Detroit native replied, tossing several handfuls of snow over his shoulder.

Mickie shook her head, seeing that this was getting them nowhere. "You do know that this has 'fail' written all over it, right?"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"How do you expect to dig even the tiniest hole through about 5 tons of snow using just your hands and eventually getting them frostbitten?" she asked.

"Well it wouldn't kill you to help me, now would it?" he asked sarcastically, turning to her.

"I'm not doing something that's not gonna work." she protested.

Sighing, he threw his hands in the air in exasperation and exclaimed, "Ok fine! What the hell else are we gonna do here? You know we're not going to be able to survive in here for too long!"

* * *

Back in the gang's bungalow, Jericho was pacing back and forth, calling Mickie on his cell.

"Mickie? Babe?—Damn it! No connection." he muttered, when Velvet soon rushed inside to join him.

"Jericho!"

He turned to her and rolled his eyes. "Look, I don't have time for you right now! I'm busy trying to get a hold of Mickie, who I haven't seen or talked to in hours."

"Oh, I know exactly where Mickie is." the blonde replied surely.

"You do? Where is she?" he lit up.

"She…is hanging around with MY boyfriend." she replied with a raised eyebrow.

The Canadian's features hardened. "She's with Sabin?" he demanded.

In the cave…

"HEEEEELLLLPPPP!" Mickie screamed once more, to the utter annoyance of Chris. Apparently, there was no other option but to scream for help, at least that was what Mickie believed. "Is there ANYBODY out there? There are two people in here that need saving, will ANYBODY PLEASE COME HERE AND GET US OUT?"

With no response from outside, she sighed heavily and then turned around to find Sabin mindlessly bonking his head against the cave wall.

"And what's your deal?" she demanded.

He sighed again. "Not much, Mickie. Just trying to drown out all of the pointless screaming by bashing my head in the wall." he said sarcastically.

"Look, Sab. I'm really getting tired of your attitude, and right now? I don't need it. Ok?"

"Well well, look who just turned on the bitch switch." he smirked.

Her eyes widened. "EXCUSE me?"

"You heard me."

"Oh wow, Chris, that's real mature of you! You know what? Why don't you just shut up?" Mickie demanded.

"Make me." he egged her on, silently enjoying it.

"I—you know what, I can't waste valuable time yelling at you when I could be yelling for help." she replied, turning back to the entrance. "EXCUSE ME? ANYONE OUT THERE? HELP!"

Chris groaned, not being able to take any more. "Mickie!"

"_HELP! HEEEEEEEELLLLLPPPPPP!"_ she belted out, and that was the last he was hearing from her.

Storming towards her, he grumbled, "Damn it, Mickie—" before roughly turning her around and wrapping her in a passionate, yet lasting kiss, to shut her up. Mickie was about to push him away, but melted into the kiss. Once he broke away, his chest heaved up and down while her shocked eyes looked into his cold blue ones. "There. You settled down now?" he asked.

As a reply, she grew pissed and slapped him across the face.

"Ow!" he cried, lightly touching his cheek.

"_What_ the hell did you just do?" she demanded in a low tone.

"Uh, I had to find some way to shut you up!" he cried, a little pissed. No, more than a little pissed.

"What part of 'I have a boyfriend' do you not understand?" she muttered, brushing past him to stand by herself at the back end of the cave.

He turned back to look at her.

She caught his eye and yelled, "WHAT?"

Then, he faced the blocked entrance, rested his hands over the surface, and muttered, "I gotta get outta here…"


	65. Chapter 65

**Chapter 65**

The snowstorm continued to get worse as the sky grew a little dark in time for the evening, while Mickie and Chris were still trapped in their cave. With the stress of them both having no way out, they were really tired of being at each other's throats. At this point, they were sitting on opposite sides of the place, occasionally sending glances towards one another.

Chris turned to look at Mickie.

She turned to look at him.

"Why do you keep looking over here?" the Diva finally asked.

"Why do you keep looking over here?" he asked back.

"I asked you first."

"You want to know? Mickie, I just want to know why you're so hung up over me kissing you. It's not like we haven't done it before." he replied.

"You know, what I don't get is why you're acting so cool and calm about this! You have a girlfriend, I have a boyfriend, so you had absolutely no right to kiss me, even if you only did it to shut me up." the brunette replied.

"But still. You can't deny that you felt something when we did kiss." he replied, his tone softening.

She looked down for a moment, realizing that he was telling an undeniable truth. "…Even if I did, Chris, this still doesn't change anything between us."

He shrugged.

"Now this is the least of our problems, we just have to figure out a way out of here before we freeze to death." she finished.

"How, Mickie? We've tried just about everything and nothing worked. And you know what? The more we try and come up with different ideas, the more angry and bitter we'll become. What we need to do is to come up with something that we both agree on." he explained.

For the first time in hours, she found her smile again. "At least we finally found something that we CAN agree on."

* * *

Meanwhile, both Jericho and Velvet were outside, searching for their significant others…

"I cannot believe Mickie ran off with him." he grumbled, brushing some snow off of his face. "No, you know whose fault this is? Sabin's. He probably seduced her into heading off with him."

Velvet snapped back to him, "Hey, my boyfriend is NOT the cause of any of this! if anyone's, it's your whore of a girlfriend's fault for seducing Chris!"

"Hey, _blondie_, for the last time, Mickie is not a whore, and I want you to stop talking about her that way. If you want to talk about whores, why don't you talk about your man-whore of a boyfriend for cheating on Mickie with someone like you in the first place!" he snapped.

Shocked, she gasped. "How the hell dare you call him a man-whore?...No, wait. Look, we don't have time to be fighting like this. The point is, we haven't seen either of them in hours and we have to find them before this storm gets even worse."

"Well, how far did you think they went?" he asked, trying to ignore the bitter wind blowing in his face. "We've been out here for the last 25 minutes."

"And we'll be out here for as long as we need to be! But to answer your question, I don't know where they went." the blonde replied, before pausing. "Wait."

"What?"

"Maybe…they don't want us to find them." she realized.

"Oh, come on! What makes you think that?"

"I think that they ran away from us." she finished, hoping that she herself was wrong.

Back in the cave…

The two were sitting in a comfortable silence when Mickie turned to a peaceful looking Chris and asked, "Sab?"

"Hmm?"

"You've been awfully quiet lately. Whatcha thinking?"

"Eh, just thinking how pissed Velvet probably is at me."

"Why would she be pissed?"

"Cause, it's been hours since she's seen me and knowing her, she probably thinks that I ran out on her or something."

"You really think that she'd accuse you of doing such a thing so quickly?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I dunno. It hasn't stopped you in the past."

With that remark, she sent him a look and crossed her arms. "Real nice, Chris."

"Ah, Mickie, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it. I just get cranky when I'm trapped in strange places." he apologized.

"I understand, I'm the same way. But anyway, I'm sure that Velvet's just worried sick about you. I'd be, too."

He turned to her and smiled a little. "Thanks. I'd worry about you, too. That Jericho's one lucky bastard, I'll tell ya that."

"Aw, Chris…" she blushed. "I know it took a lot for you to say that."

"Yeah, it did. And you know the irony of all this?"

"What?"

"I'm trapped in here with you, my ex-girlfriend, while today's mine and Velvet's 3 month anniversary." he announced, to her shock.

"…Anniversary?" she uttered.

* * *

Meanwhile, Alex and AJ had finally returned home after spending at least another hour playing in the snow, not even aware of Mickie and Chris's disappearance…

"Hey, kids, fire up the hot coco! We got some serious warming up to do." Shelley exclaimed, unwrapping his scarf while AJ slid off her jacket.

"Yeah, we meant to come inside earlier, but we were having a blast out there and we just couldn't stop." she agreed.

Punk handed them two cups of hot chocolate. "About time you guys made it back here! Britani and I were about to finish the rest of it."

"This is probably the most delicious thing I've ever tasted!" the British Diva exclaimed. "I'm surprised that we don't have more of these in England, the people over there would kill for this."

"Well, I'm happy to've introduced you to our wonderful American customs." CM replied, giving her a kiss. "You know, you oughta introduce me to some of your customs from England."

"Wait, let me guess. Tea and crumpets?" Alex asked with a smirk. "Scones?"

She smirked back. "No, that is not all we have, thank you very much. We have these crazy, fun traditions happening every month! Two of my favorites are the Pancake races that are held in February."

"Ooh, pancake races? What's that?" asked AJ.

"It's what it sounds like. Is' a race where you just have to reach the finish line first while flipping a pancake in a frying pan a certain number of times." she explained.

"Hey, that sounds pretty fun! We oughta try that here sometime." Punk replied.

"Yeah, I sure as hell know that Sabin would fail at it." Alex agreed with a chuckle.

"Well, if you liked that, you'd love Shrovetide Football. It's this huge game where thousands of players are involved and the game goes on for two days straight." Britani added with a smile.

"No kidding? I'd kick Sabin's ass with that, too! And yours, Punk!" Alex exclaimed.

"Oh, what makes you so confident, Shelley? I may not be much of a football guy, but I'd kick your ass just to shut you up." the tattooed man smirked.

"Oh! Defensive, are we now?"

AJ laughed. "This is awesome, Britani, we totally need to do these kind of things here in America."

"Yay! One day we can make it happen!" she agreed.

"So, speaking of, where the hell are Sab and Mickie? They still haven't gotten back yet?" asked Alex.

"No, we still haven't seen a sign of em." replied Punk. "Think they're all right?"

And right then and there, Velvet and Jericho rushed back into the place.

"Hey, have you guys seen Chris and Mickie?" AJ asked.

"No. We've been out there looking for them for…too long, and we haven't found a sign of either of em!" replied Jericho.

"What?" Alex demanded, concerned.

"And neither of you called a park ranger about this?" AJ demanded, angry.

Not knowing how to reply, Velvet and Jericho exchanged looks.

* * *

Outside, the snow was really piling up and it was getting darker out, making it tougher for anyone to possibly find Mickie and Chris.

"Wow, I-I didn't know it was your anniversary." Mickie replied, hugging herself to keep warm.

"Yep. Surprisingly enough, Velvet barely even mentioned it, so I don't know if she forgot or what." he replied, shivering a bit.

"Leave it to her to forget something that important. But you know, Chris? I think it's totally sweet of you to still remember." she replied, smiling. "Besides, you never forgot our anniversary when we were still together."

"How could I forget? It was a reminder of the day we met and fell in love." he smiled back.

"You were always so romantic." she smiled, shivering.

"Ah, what can I say? I was your typical Casanova." he said with a smirk, before noticing how much more frequently she was shivering. "Hey, Mickie, you look like you're freezing."

"No, I-I'm fine." she replied.

"No, you're not. Come here, we have to stay warm in order to survive. I don't want you to catch frostbite or anything."

Realizing that he was right, she nodded and took a seat next to him, allowing herself to be wrapped in his arms. A small smile grew across her face. "Chris?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry for being such a bitch to you earlier. You didn't deserve to get yelled at."

"It's ok. And I'm sorry for having such a bad attitude before, too. I should've been more helpful." Sabin replied, holding her close. "Let's just not fight anymore, ok?"

"Deal." she agreed.

"Don't worry, Sweet Mickie. Everything's gonna be all right." he quietly assured her.

"I hope so. But I wonder if the others even know that we're missing." she replied.

* * *

Later, Alex, AJ, Britani, Punk, Jericho, and Velvet all headed outside to speak to the park ranger in hopes of finding their friends…

"Ok, can you give me a description of the two again?" one of them asked.

Jericho sighed, frustrated. "Look, I will tell you one more time, and this time, LISTEN. My girlfriend Mickie, she's 5'3", golden brown hair, brown eyes, curvy, you couldn't miss her."

"And my boyfriend Chris, he's 5'10", messy brownish-blondish hair, blue eyes, he's wearing a grey cap with a black vest, and…oh, you'll be able to find him, just hurry, ok?" Velvet pleaded.

"Here, maybe if you look at a picture of em, you can tell us if you've at least seen them or not." AJ spoke up, showing the ranger a picture of Chris and Mickie together on her phone.

"Wow, cute couple." the ranger replied.

"They are NOT a couple!" an annoyed Velvet and Jericho exclaimed at once.

"Look, will you be able to find them or not?" Alex cut in.

"We'll be right on it, you guys. We'll try and search before the storm gets any worse and before it gets too dark to see." he replied.

"Well, let us come with you." replied Britani.

"Ma'am, we can't allow you to do that, it's too dangerous outside!"

"No, she has a good point, if we join the search, it'll make it easier for at least one of us to find where they are." replied Punk. "We don't have any other choice, we gotta find them."

The ranger looked them all over and nodded. "Let's go."


	66. Chapter 66

**Chapter 66**

Hours had passed by since the storm had began, and the snow was falling worse than it had been before. To make things worse, it was now nightfall and the gang had still seen no sign of either Chris or Mickie.

"I can't believe we still haven't found them!" exclaimed AJ. "Alex, what if they're—they're…"

"No, baby, don't think like that. If they're together, they should be totally fine. I know that they are." he replied, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"Ok, we've closed off the whole entire field and have called an APB on the two victims." one ranger called to someone on his walkie talkie. "We have a Caucasian female 5'3", and a Caucasian male 5'10", both missing, search every perimeter, every closed space in a 5 mile radius."

"Victim? No, no, my Chris is not a victim, he's totally fine!" Velvet exclaimed tearfully. "CHRIS! CHRIS, WHERE ARE YOU?"

"MICKIE!" Jericho called at the same time. "BABE, IF YOU HEAR MY VOICE, CALL BACK, PLEASE!"

No reply.

"This is all my fault, I shouldn't have let Chris go out there! Why didn't I just keep him with me?" the blonde asked.

"Well, how the hell do you think I feel? I could've stopped Mickie from leaving, but I didn't! I can't believe I made such a stupid decision." Jericho replied.

"Look guys, blaming yourselves isn't gonna bring us any closer to those two, all right? Now let's stop whining and keep looking." Punk announced as they continued walking and shining their flashlights around. The gang continued looking every which way, but when another hour and a half had passed, it seemed as if all hope was lost.

"No sign of either of them. We just may have to close the search until tomorrow." announced the ranger.

"No!" snapped Alex. "Are you kidding? We're not stopping just because it's a little dark outside, and if we wait until tomorrow, it might be too late for the both of them. Our best friends are missing, and we're going to find them tonight, ok?"

He gave him a look and nodded. "One more hour. That's it. C'mon."

Little did they know, they were a short distance away from the cave that their friends were trapped in.

Meanwhile…

"Mickie?" Chris asked, still tightly holding the shivering Diva in his arms. "You still with me?"

"Mm hmm." she nodded. "It's s-so cold."

"I-I know." he agreed, shivering along. "We g-gotta find something to do that'll distract us until someone comes to save us."

"L-Like what?"

"Like…" he began, looking around until he saw something unusual in the back corner of the cave. "Hey, what are those over there?"

"What?" she questioned, looking back. "Oh, my God, are those…bones?"

"Let's see. C'mon." he replied, helping her up and keeping an arm wrapped around her shoulders as they approached the pile of white bones in a corner.

"A-Are these bones left behind by someone who was once in here like we are now?" Mickie asked with a shudder of fear.

"You mean, left behind by someone's corpse?" Chris uttered, terrified. "Ok, it's official. We're finished."

Mickie was about to agree, but then looked closer. "Wait. These aren't bones from a person."

"They're not?"

"No." she replied, picking up a faded piece of an antler. "These are deer antlers. Bits and pieces of them, anyway."

"Oh." he sighed in relief. "So, nobody has really ever died in here, then."

"I-I guess not." she nodded, still relieved. "But I still really just want to go back home."

The Detroit native nodded and wrapped her in a hug once again. "I know, I know. So do I. My main concern is just getting you outta here because I don't want you to catch hypothermia or anything."

"Well, Sab, can I tell you something?" she asked, looking up at him.

"Shoot."

"Even if anything did happen and I were here living my last moments…I'm just glad that I got to spend them with you." she admitted, smiling.

He smiled back. "Aw, Mickie…I feel the exact same way about you. If I had to die right here, then I'd at least go with a smile knowing that I'm here with you."

No other guy had ever said anything so deep towards her, and she nearly felt like crying. "Chris…" she uttered, her voice breaking before she buried her face into his chest. While the two stood there in each other's embrace, Chris thought that he heard something from outside. "Hey."

"What?"

"Listen. You hear something out there?"

She stepped closer to the entrance and heard a few muffled voices outside. "Oh my God, I think somebody's out there!"

"Well c'mon, let's call em!"

"HELP!—ANYONE OUT THERE?" they screamed.

Outside, the gang was still searching around until Alex had heard their voices first.

"_HELP! WE'RE IN HERE!"_

"Oh, man. GUYS!" he called back to the gang while they rushed to join him. "Guys, I heard two voices somewhere behind this pile of snow."

"Oh, oh, CHRIS?" Velvet screamed.

"_Vel, is that you?_" he called back.

"Yeah, it's me, are you all right?"

"_We're fine! Mickie and I've been trapped in this cave for hours after the storm began!"_

"How's Mickie, is she ok?" Jericho exclaimed.

"_I'm fine, just get us outta here, please!"_ the Diva called back.

"All right, baby, we'll get you outta there, just hold on!" the Canadian exclaimed.

So soon after that, the gang managed to grab some shovels from the team of rangers, and about 10 minutes later, they had cleared enough snow for Mickie and Chris to finally see the outside world again. They rushed out into the arms of their friends.

"Chris, buddy, Mickie, you all right?" Alex asked, giving them a hug.

"Oh, we were so scared!" AJ cried.

"You gave us quite a scare, you two." Punk agreed.

"C'mon, we have to get you two out of this cold weather right away." added Britani.

"Don't worry, everyone, we're fine." Chris assured. "If we didn't have each other, then we probably wouldn't have made it."

Velvet rushed into his arms and wrapped him in a hug, crying. "Oh God, babe, I'm so sorry! I'm so, so sorry…"

"Hey, Jamie, it's ok. What are you sorry for?" he asked, coming a hand through her hair.

"I shouldn't have let you leave and we shouldn't have had that stupid argument. I'm just so glad that you're okay." she sniffled.

"Ok, folks, let's save the pleasantries for later, we gotta take you two to the infirmary to get checked out just in case." a ranger replied.

* * *

A little later, Chris and Mickie headed to get checked out for hyperthermia or any condition of some sort, and the two of them turned out to be just fine, to the relief of everyone. Now, the whole gang was back at their bungalow…

Mickie was up in hers and Jericho's room, bundled under some sheets, when he joined her with a bouquet of flowers and some chocolates. "Hey, beautiful, I got you your favorite roses."

She smiled and took them. "Aww, they're beautiful! Thank you."

"No prob. So how you feeling? Need any more sheets or anything?"

"No thanks, I've regained feeling in most of my body, so I'm ok. But you have absolutely no idea how good it feels to be in a nice, warm bed again." the Diva replied.

"I could imagine." he chuckled, kissing her forehead. "Coming from someone who came from Canada, I know how brutal the cold can be, but I couldn't picture myself going through what you went through today. I'm just sorry for not stopping you earlier. I could've prevented all of this."

"Chris, it's ok. None of us knew what was going to happen, so it's not your fault."

"But still, you shouldn't have been out there in the first place." he replied.

"But the point is, I am fine! Thanks to Sab for taking care of me." the brunette smiled.

He, on the other hand, didn't return the smile. "Mickie, what was Sabin doing there with you in the first place? He could've gotten you hurt!"

Her expression changed. "Excuse me, Chris, the last thing he would ever do is hurt me."

"Nah, of course not." he said sarcastically. "He just conveniently had that fight with Velvet so that he could run off into the sunset with you. That's believable enough for me, how about you?"

She didn't know how to reply.

Meanwhile, Chris was resting in his and Velvet's room, while she was pampering and catering to him.

"Need any more blankets, Chris? Oh, why do I even need to ask, of course you do!" she cried, throwing about 5 more on top of him, in addition to the 4 pillows under his head and the 5 pillows propped under his feet.

He chuckled. "Babe, you're too sweet for this, but I think I'm warm enough now. In fact, I feel like I'm getting hot flashes now."

"Sorry." she blushed, sitting next to him. "I'm just worried about you. You could've gotten hypothermia or frostbitten."

"I could've, but I didn't. You don't have to worry about me, Vel, it's ok. Besides, through all the drama of today, do you know what today actually is?" he asked.

She paused and thought for a moment. "…Tuesday?"

He gave her a surprised look. "No."

"Is it someone's birthday?"

The Detroit native was hurt that she didn't even remember. "Jamie, it's our three month anniversary."

Realizing that he was absolutely right, she gasped and covered her mouth. "Oh God, Chris…"

"I'm surprised that you of all people didn't remember."

"Oh Chris, babe, I didn't mean to forget, I swear! A lot just happened today and…"

"No, Vel, I completely understand. It's all right." he flashed her a smile."

"No, it's not all right, Chris. And you know what, to top today off, all I did was yell at you! Well you know what? Tomorrow, I promise that we'll have one hell of an anniversary, and I'll make up for everything. Promise." the blonde smiled.

He smiled back and gave her a kiss. "Thanks."

"I love you, Sab."

"I love you, too."

"Now, if only I could get my hands on that Mickie for putting you through all this in the first place."

"Vel, Mickie didn't cause anything." he replied.

"Yes, she did, this is all her fault! She probably had a convenient little fight with Jericho just so that she could get away from him and take you with her! If it weren't for her, none of this would've happened." the Knockout explained. "You have to stay away from her, Chris, she's only going to get you hurt one day."

Once she headed out of the room, he sighed and replied to himself, "I can't just stay away from her, Vel."


	67. Chapter 67

**Chapter 67**

A week after the gang's ski trip from hell, it was back to work as Monday's Raw rolled around again. Summerslam was getting closer and closer, the feud between Jericho, Mickie, and Punk was just heating up, and Alberto Del Rio was still lurking around with plans of his own for AJ. Now, Mickie was walking around backstage when she nearly ran into Punk, who turned the corner.

"Hey." Mickie shrugged.

He was still mad at her for siding with Jericho the other night, but replied a calm, "Hey. You uh, feeling all right from last week?"

"I'm fine. But then again, why would you care? We're not really friends anymore, remember?" she asked with attitude.

"Eh, I know." he mocked her tone, eying her down. "But to answer your question, I just care, ok? You could've caught frostbite or something out there, and I'm glad that you didn't."

"Punk, just stop, ok?"

"Stop what?"

"Stop trying to be such a kiss up! I know you have something against Jericho and he's still my boyfriend whether you like it or not!" she exclaimed.

"Well, gee, Mickie, do I really have something against your joke of a boyfriend?" he asked sarcastically. "After all, he tried to break my arm twice, he took away my title, he's been harassing me over the past couple of months, so would I really have a bad deal with him?"

"You think you're such a cool bastard, don't you?" the Diva asked, crossing her arms.

"As a matter of fact, I am a cool bastard." he agreed. "And I thought that you were cool, too, but lately you've been on my list of enemies. Sad to ever imagine a sweet girl like you on my bad list."

She sighed. "Look, Punk, where are you going with this? I have things to do."

"I'm trying to get through to you one last time, Mickie. Stay away from Jericho! I don't care that he's your boyfriend and you love him, he...is…no…good…for…you. In fact, you know what he's doing to you?"

She just looked at him.

"He's turning you into him." he announced, but before she could even reply, Jericho rushed out from behind Punk and attacked him, kicking and punching away at the Straightedge Superstar while Mickie did nothing but stand there and watch, her mouth hung open in shock.

After he slammed him against a wall a few times and then toying around with Punk's bad arm, he grunted and tightly held it, coiling back while Jericho's eyes pierced into his and he said, "For the last time, Punk. You are not getting my title, and you sure as hell aren't getting my girl. If I catch you talking to her again, I'll break that arm of yours right off."

Punk seethed and shot him a look.

"Mickie, let's go." Jericho called.

The Country Diva looked down at her former friend, when Punk asked her a vital question. "Mickie, is this what you really want?"

Not supplying an answer for that, her eyes narrowed before walking around him and taking Jericho's hand as they headed off. Punk, on the other hand, was very disappointed that he'd lost one of his closest friends.

* * *

Meanwhile, AJ and Kaitlyn were in a tag match together. After Kaitlyn's crazy leap of faith off of the ladder after the last PPV, she was lucky not to have been too hurt, and insisted on teaming with her best friend. Since she didn't have Mickie anymore, AJ was happy with having Katie on her side. In the Guns' locker room, Alex watched his girlfriend's match on his own, since Chris and Velvet were off somewhere for a moment.

Seeing April attack her opponent with a crazy move, Shelley cheered, "Yeah, babe, kick her ass! Ah, man, what a woman." he looked down at his phone for a sec to check his messages. "I can't believe how lucky I am to have her. Now let's see who wants to chat with Alex…"

Flipping through his list, he was surprised to find an unread text from Eve. "Oh God, no. I don't care what the hell she has to say." he replied, quickly deleting it. Once he heard Del Rio's music from outside, though, his head shot up and his eyes were glued to the TV.

In the ring, AJ and Kaitlyn exchanged confused looks while Del Rio came out saying amongst all of the boos, "April, dear April…why must you keep denying me? You KNOW that we are truly meant to be together." He soon climbed into the ring and approached her, while she backed away. "But now, I know exactly what – or who – the problem really is. And I promise, AJ, I will destroy your precious Shelley."

"You BASTARD!" AJ screeched, forcefully slapping him across the face, stumbling him back a bit.

When he held his stinging cheek, he grew furious and replied, "Ok, April, you leave me no other choice. Ricardo, hold her down."

The Diva's eyes had widened and she didn't even know that his little henchman was even there behind her. The Mexican announced held her arms back against the ringpost, leaving her as a bare target for whatever Del Rio was about to do to her.

Backstage, Alex saw his girlfriend in trouble and had to save her before it was too late. "Oh, hell no. APRIL!" he shouted, speeding out of the locker room and through the hall, but before he could even run down the ramp, he felt two arms holding him back.

The arms belonged to Dolph Ziggler, who laughed and said, "You're not going anywhere, man. Johnny's orders."

While Shelley fought to get himself free, AJ was bracing for impact while Del Rio smirked and cracked his knuckles. He really wouldn't hit a woman, would he? In the meantime, she saw Alex being restrained in the distance and screamed in hopes that he'd hear her. "ALEX! ALEX, HELP!"

He heard her terrified screams and tried all he could to get out of Ziggler's grasp. "APRIL!" he screamed back.

Before Del Rio could attack, though, Sabin arrived and rammed a steel chair into Ziggler's back, causing him to scream out in pain and immediately let go of Alex. Shelley mentally reminded himself to thank his best friend when they got backstage, but in the meantime, the two Guns sped down to the ring with the fans fully on their side to save the suffering Diva.

Once they slid into the ring, Ricardo disappeared, and Del Rio whipped around but had no time to react once he was superkicked by Sabin, superkicked by Shelley, and then simultaneously superkicked by the both of them, sending him out of the ring. Before he could get back up, Alex and Chris helped AJ out of the ring and the three sped up the ramp and stopped once they reached the top, looking back at the now empty ring where an irate Del Rio was trying to stumble back into.

* * *

Once they arrived backstage, AJ leaned against a wall, trying to calm herself down. "Holy crap. What the hell just happened?" she asked.

"I have no idea, but are you ok?" Alex asked, concerned.

She nodded and wrapped her arms around him in a hug.

"Yeah, no thanks are necessary, I just felt that I had to save my two best friends." Chris replied sarcastically with a smirk.

AJ laughed and gave him a hug. "Oh, we could never forget you, Chris. Thanks for rescuing me."

"Yeah, dude, I don't know what would've happened if you hadn't gotten Ziggler off of me." agreed Alex, patting him on the back.

"Ah, it was no big. So now we gotta figure out the bigger question here – what the hell was all that about?" asked Sabin.

And right then and there, Johnny Ace just happened to walk by them. "Oh, you'll find out next week." he said with a grin.

The Guns eyed him down suspiciously.

"What's that supposed to mean?" demanded Alex.

As a reply, he just laughed and proceeded to walk away with the three looking in his direction.

"Well, that can't be good." AJ concluded, raising an eyebrow.


	68. Chapter 68

**Chapter 68**

The next day, Alex, AJ, Chris, and Velvet were back home in Detroit, enjoying their day off by playing an endless amount of video games. Well, Chris, AJ, and Alex were, anyway. Velvet was reading through one of her many magazines.

"No, no, no, no, come on, come ON!" Alex cried, leaning towards the TV as he fiddled with his controller.

"Almost there…" AJ smiled, pressing a pattern of controls as Chris did the same. "And…"

"_HEADSHOT!_"

"YES!" AJ and Chris cheered, high fiving one another.

"Ok, I quit." Alex replied, tossing down his controller.

"Come on, dude, you've wanted to quit every game that you lost, just be a man and take it like a sore loser!" Sabin exclaimed, chuckling.

"Well—well, why are you even playing this game with April and I? Shouldn't you be picking the flies from out of Velvet's web-trap that she calls hair?" Shelley exclaimed.

Velvet gasped. "I beg your pardon?! Alex, you're just bitter because you're a failure! Besides, why are you here, shouldn't you be headed to Moron Island? I think the bus there is about to leave soon."

"Well, Vel, I'm surprised that you're not headed on the bus to Jurassic Park. I heard you were supposed to be their main attraction." Alex smirked back.

"OH!" she yelped in shock, while AJ and Chris were laughing. "Alex, you just sit your _cheap_ five dollar ass down before I make change outta you! Chris, come on, let's go and do something together." she replied, grabbing him by the arm and leading him out.

"When did today turn into a comedy?" Sabin asked from a distance.

"Hey, Sab, don't forget her Scooby Snacks, she's not going to want to do anything without those!" Alex called.

Velvet backtracked, gave him the finger, and then headed back off with her boyfriend.

AJ wiped a tear from her eyes, trying to recover from her laughter. "You guys are so terrible."

"Yeah, she is." he smiled, wrapping his arms around her and leaning them both down on the couch before starting a make out session.

"Mmm, y'know, Shells, why don't we just take this to our bedroom? We'd have less of a chance of being interrupted." the tiny Diva smiled, roaming her hands up and down his chest.

"_Our_ bedroom. Don't you just love the sound of that? Let's go!" he exclaimed, lifting her in his arms. But before they could even make it to the room, the bell rung.

They paused. "Who could that be?" she asked.

He gently let her down. "I don't know, wasn't expecting anyone else here today."

"It's ok, I'll answer it."

Once the Diva answered the door, her smile faded once she saw who was standing on the other side. "…Dad?"

"April, good. Come on, I've come to take you back home." announced Antonio.

Shocked, she shook her head. "How the hell did you find this place?"

"I just did. Now grab your things and come on." he demanded, reaching out to her, but she sharply pulled away.

"April, who's—" Alex stopped once he saw who was there.

Antonio's expression hardened.

Alex protectively wrapped an arm around his girlfriend in reply.

"I—I'm not going anywhere with you. I live here now with my boyfriend and my friends." AJ announced certainly.

"The hell you do, now April, _come on!_" he cried, his voice raising.

"NO! Alex, get him out of here!" the cried, storming off into their room.

Shelley stood in front of the door, crossing his arms. "So uh, did you come here to hurt your daughter's feelings even further or what? Cause frankly, you're wasting hers and my time and I think you better leave."

"I am not leaving until I get my daughter." Antonio said defiantly.

"As you can see, she wants nothing to do with you right now. Ever, actually." he replied.

"I don't care. You tell April to get her things, and come home with me." replied the older man.

AJ opened the bedroom door and poked her head out, trying to over hear what was being said. Chris came out and noticed her. "AJ? What's wrong?"

She lightly took his arm and gestured towards the door. "Shh."

Alex chuckled bitterly. "Are you deaf? I just told you that she's not going anywhere with you, because she's happy living where she is now."

"Happy, my ass! I always KNEW you were nothing but trouble, and you will not be around April anymore!" Antonio shouted. "Case closed, April, GET OUT HERE!"

"HEY!" Alex shouted, startling AJ in the background. "I'm going to ask you to keep your voice down. Now uh, the last time we met, you called April – what was it again – a mistake?"

AJ looked down, reliving the memory, while Chris wrapped a protective arm around her shoulders.

Alex continued, "To me, April is perfect in every way possible and I love her for that. And I intend on giving her the life that she deserves and she'll continue being treated like the princess that she is. She was never a princess to you, huh?"

No reply.

"I thought so. See, if anyone's a mistake, it's you, you sorry excuse for a parent!"

"SHUT UP!" Antonio barked.

"Can't take the truth?" he smirked.

He pushed past him and looked AJ dead in the eyes. "April, for the last time, grab your things and _get OUT HERE!"_ he shouted, while AJ scowled and stormed back in the bedroom, and Chris sent him a look before watching the rest of the scene unfold.

Alex stood in front of Antonio and replied, "So, is this what it's come to now? You gonna carry her out over your shoulder while she's kicking and screaming?"

He growled. "Whatever it has come to…it hasn't come to that, punk."

Alex nodded slowly. "Good. Now if you weren't aware, this is my house, and I'm suggesting that you get your sorry ass the hell off of my property before I call the cops on you." he demanded.

Seething, he continued standing there.

"You think I'm kidding?" Alex demanded.

Chris joined him. "Alex, is there a problem here?" he asked, not taking his eyes off of Antonio.

"There will be if this joke of a human being doesn't get the hell off of my doorstep in the next five seconds. Could you hand me the phone?"

Right then and there, Antonio snarled and turned the other way, climbing into his car and slamming the door.

Alex watched him speed down the road before slamming his front door. "Prick." he muttered.

Chris slowly placed down the phone. "So he's the bastard parent. Lovely personality." he said, sitting next to Alex, who sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair. "You ok?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I don't know how the hell he found this place, but he better not show his face here again."

Once AJ slowly stepped out of the room, now wearing one of Alex's shirts, the Guns looked up and he smiled upon seeing her.

"Did he leave? Cause I wanted to wear this to prove a point to him." she announced.

"Yeah, he's gone. You feeling ok?" he asked while she sat between them.

"Uh, I better give you two some alone time and get back to Velvet." Chris replied, playfully tassling AJ's hair before heading off to join his girlfriend.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I don't know what possessed him to fly all the way to Detroit, but I'm glad that he's gone." the Diva replied.

Shelley kissed her forehead and nodded. "So am I. And you know, you don't have to just wear one of my shirts to prove a point to him, although you look awfully adorable in it," he began while she blushed. "You stood up to him on your own, and I'm proud of you for it. You're a tough little geek."

"Thanks, Shells." she smiled. "I love you so much."

"I love you, too." he replied, wrapping her in a slow, yet passionate kiss.

Meanwhile, Antonio had never left the neighborhood and parked his car on the side of the road, taking out his phone and dialing a number. "Alberto?..._Si, si_ _simplemente callarse y escuchar un segundo!"_ he shouted. "Listen, man, it is time for Plan B. Make it happen." And after that, he slammed his cell closed, his vengeful eyes looking at his own scary reflection through the rearview mirror.


	69. Chapter 69

**_AN: Hey peeps, VERY sorry for the extremely long and painful wait, but my computer had problems and I had to go and get it fixed. But now, my computer has been restored and everything's back to normal, so I'll upload two chappies today. :) Enjoy!_**

* * *

**Chapter 69**

Meanwhile in New York, where Jericho's other home was located, both he and Mickie were spending their day off together, enjoying each other's company…

Now, they were in the living room, having a make out session of their own on their couch with the lights dimmed low. He broke away and told her, "You…are gorgeous."

She giggled and kissed the tip if his nose. "You…are smoking hot."

"Hmm, then I guess that you and I are even." Jericho agreed, chuckling.

After a few moments, she broke away and suddenly asked, "Babe, something's been bothering me lately."

"Really? What?"

"I was just wondering…maybe you've been a little too hard on Punk lately. Over the past few weeks, or months, rather, it seems like you've been going too far."

"Mickie, I haven't gone far _enough _on him!" he exclaimed, serious.

"You haven't?" she asked, surprised.

"No! Babe, I know it may be hard to watch me attack him sometimes, but I'm just trying to prove a point here. Besides, I'm only doing the right thing for the two of us. I won't let him or anyone take you away from me." Chris smiled.

She smiled back and leaned in to give him another kiss, with his hands roaming across her back to remove her shirt while she was about to remove his. "…You want to take this party somewhere else?" he asked after a while.

The Diva flashed him a seductive smile. "I would love to. Carry me." she replied, raising up her arms.

He grinned. "Why don't you hop on first?"

She nodded and leapt onto him, her legs wrapping around his waist while her arms wrapped around his neck, while his held onto her waist. They resumed making out, until they heard a knock from the door.

"…Who's that?" the Diva asked, turning back.

"I dunno. Maybe if we're real quiet, they'll go away."

Someone knocked again. _"Chris, it's me, I know you're in there, open up!" _

His eyes grew wide and he gently placed Mickie down. "Oh man, it's Jess and the kids."

"What?!" Mickie cried in a whisper, straightening herself up. "What the hell is your ex wife doing here?"

"I don't know! Just uh, stay chill, lean back and watch some TV or something, ok?" he said quickly, giving her a chance to settle down before he finally answered the door. "Hey, Jess. Aw, hey, it's Daddy's favorite little rock stars!" he exclaimed, giving his two daughters a kiss and tassled his son's hair. Mickie, in the meantime, grew pale and felt as awkward as ever. Maybe she should've hid someplace instead.

"Chris, why did you take so long to answer the door—" Jessica stopped once she turned to see Mickie.

Mickie slowly turned to glance at her.

"What the hell is this homewrecking whore still doing with you?!" she demanded.

The brunette half covered her face in embarrassment, while Jericho replied, "Jess, can we step aside for a sec for a chat?" As he led her into another room, she sent Mickie a death glare before following him.

Meanwhile, she herself was left alone with the three children, who each sat there staring right at her. After a very awkward silence, Mickie finally had the courage to speak up. After all, they were just little kids. She put on a friendly smile and exclaimed, "Um, hi, you guys!"

They didn't reply.

"My name is Mickie. What are your names?"

"..."

The brunette's smile faded and she sighed, leaning back into the couch and resting her head over her palm.

"So is it true? Are you a home…home wrecker?" the youngest girl asked.

Mickie bit her lower lip.

"What's a home wrecker?" asked their son.

"Oh that's easy. Mommy says that a home wrecker is a self righteous whore like this lady here." the oldest girl replied while Mickie gasped. How the hell did a 7 year old know this stuff?

"Now guys, wait, what you're hearing Is wrong! See, let me try and explain in a way that you'd easily understand. Um, your father and I have been really good friends for a very long time. And sometimes two friends could develop…feelings for one another and even become more than friends. I-I love your father very much, and he loves me almost as much as he loves you guys."

The kids weren't buying it now.

"So are you supposed to be our new mommy now or something, because I don't like you." the son replied.

Her eyes narrowed. "Oh."

"Why are you doing this? Why are you trying to split up our family?" the oldest girl asked.

"What? I'm not trying to split up you guys, honest!" she exclaimed.

"Yes, you are! Mommy and daddy aren't together anymore and they might get a divorce or something because of you!" she continued angrily. "Leave daddy alone so that he could get back together with mommy and we can become a family again!"

Shocked and speechless, Mickie didn't know how to respond to that. "I—I'm sorry." she said quietly.

Soon after that, Jericho's angry ex wife stormed out of the other room and quickly gathered up her children. "I can't believe you, Chris! First thing tomorrow, I'm getting ahold of my lawyer!" she snapped. "Come on, kids, we don't want to be late for the dentist."

Mickie shyly glanced towards the kids while they sent distasteful looks back at her, and Jessica herself scowled towards Mickie before slamming the door after her.

Jericho, in the meantime sighed heavily and joined Mickie. "Hey, you all right?" he asked, placing a hand on her knee.

"Your kids hate me." she said quietly.

"Aw, babe, I'm sorry. I take it they didn't take the news well?"

"Nope. I tried to explain to them that I wasn't out to break up their family, but they wouldn't listen."

"Well, don't worry, baby, I'll try and explain to them once I see them again. Don't worry, in no time, they'll love you like I do." the Canadian replied, giving her a kiss.

She sent him back a weak smile, and then gave him a hug. Right then and there, though, Punk's words from the other day buzzed around in her head. _"Is this what you really want, Mickie?"_


	70. Chapter 70

**Chapter 70**

The next Monday at the newest Raw arena, the Guns were once again in their locker room, preparing for the night's events…

At that moment, Alex was giving Velvet a dirty look while she was busy doing AJ's hair and makeup.

"Ok, April, after I get through with you, you are going to look stunning, like me!" the blonde exclaimed.

"Oh PUH-leeze!" Alex scoffed.

Velvet sent him a look in return before applying some eyeshadow to the tiny Diva, who giggled.

"C'mon, hurry Vel! I can't wait to see how I look!"

"Ok, just one more little…there!" she exclaimed, pleased with her work. "Ooh, you look even cuter than usual!"

"Let me see!"

"Damn it, Sky, you better not have screwed up my beautiful girlfriend." Alex said sternly.

"Relax, I didn't screw up anything." she replied, turning AJ around to face him, whose eyes widened and he gasped, shocked. "Voila!"

Her eyeshadow was pink with a little light purple mixed in, she had on a lip gloss that really didn't match at all, and her hair was in one of those cheesy 1980s side ponytails.

"AAH!" he shouted.

"So? What do you think?" Velvet asked.

"What the HELL did you do to my girlfriend?!" Shelley demanded, snatching AJ from her. "Oh baby, I'll get you looking normal in no time, don't worry."

"Did I look that bad?" the Diva asked while Alex was busy removing the makeup.

"She's trying to turn you into her which is NEVER GONNA HAPPEN." he replied, glancing at the blonde.

"Why are you ruining all of my hard work?!" Velvet demanded.

"Cause I don't want her looking like you, Scary J. Blige!" Alex snapped.

"OH!" she gasped, insulted. "Well, FINE! Don't expect me to ever provide my services again."

"Good, cause if it were up to me, I'd vote you 'Worst in Show'!" he exclaimed.

"Ok, you know what, Arsenio _Small_, you better leave me alone!" she exclaimed back, getting in his face and waving her finger around while he argued back.

"Oh, what are you gonna do? What are you gonna DO?!" Alex cried.

"Guys, guys, HEY!" Chris exclaimed, breaking them up, and then turning to look at AJ. "…Whoa."

"Do I really look that horrible?!" she cried, freaking out.

"Kind of like the 1980s gone horribly wrong." Sabin replied before Velvet pouted and punched his arm.

"Chris! I did her hair and makeup!"

"Oh! Aw, babe, I didn't know, I—"

"Aw Sab, just tell her the truth that she'll only be hired to do makeup effects for horror movies." Shelley replied, smirking.

Velvet flashed him the finger again while AJ finally found a mirror, looked at herself, and gasped, quickly rushing to the sink to wash off her makeup.

"Ok, well if that's done, I stopped by Dunkin Doughnuts and grabbed us a box of Munchkins. Dig in." Chris announced.

"Yum, jelly filled!" Alex exclaimed.

"I love powdered." Velvet replied, grabbing one.

"Sprinkles for me." added Chris.

"Save me the chocolate ones!" AJ called, still washing off her makeup.

"Will do!" he called back. "So what's the game plan for today?"

"I don't know, but our first Summerslam is coming up and we need to be a part of it." replied Shelley. "Maybe—"

Before he could finish, Eve stepped into the room, holding her lower back with one hand with a wince. She was still very much in pain after being crashed through the ladder back at the last PPV.

"Oh, look who came to join us. The corporate whore." Alex announced.

"Heh. Nice to see you too, sweetie." she replied bitterly, giving him a look. "Look, I was told to give you all these."

She handed all of them small cards.

"It's some kind of invitation for next week." announced Velvet.

AJ stepped away from the sink and picked up her invite. "For what, though?"

"Turn the page and read." the Latina smirked.

"'You are cordially invited to Monday Night Raw once we witness one of life's loveliest surprises as April Jeanette Lee and Alberto Del Rio are joined together in holy matrimony on Monday, the 13th of August at 9:30 PM?'" Chris finished, or questioned, rather, reading out loud while the others stood in wide eyed confusion and shock.

"WHAT?!" Alex, AJ, and Velvet exclaimed at once.

"Holy matrimony?!...Del Rio?!" Shelley continued, sending a glare towards Eve.

AJ quickly shook her head in disbelief. "Is—Is this some kind of joke?!"

"This has to be, you aren't getting married to him!" Alex answered.

"Who even wrote these invitations?" asked Chris, munching on another munchkin.

"That doesn't matter. The point is, you're marrying Del Rio next week." Eve said certainly, leaving the room.

"Wha—And who says that I freaking have to?!" the Diva cried after her.

"Actually, I have a major say in that, _mamacita_." Alberto himself announced, stepping in the doorway.

Pissed, Alex stood up and stood in front of his girlfriend. "Why don't you piss off somewhere?"

He chuckled and ignored him, continuing, "I see you all received the invitations! Excellente!"

"Well, these invitations were a waste of paper and time because there isn't going to be any wedding." AJ said surely. "Right?"

"Oh, poor, confused little girl. See, you do not understand. Even if you don't want to marry me, you have no choice but to become my wife because it is an arranged marriage." he announced while they all gasped.

"Arranged?!" she demanded.

"No, you can't do that to her!" Alex argued. "You're making her do something against her own will?!"

"I thought that arranged marriages were illegal in the U.S." suggested Chris.

"Look, I have made a deal with a very important someone and it is 100% legal!" the Mexican exclaimed.

"Wait, wait, I get it." AJ began, stepping up to him. "Did my father put you up to this?"

"No, it is all my idea, little cutie." he smirked.

"Well that's some deep B.S. because the rest of us could just run down to the ring and stop the wedding before it happens." replied Alex.

Del Rio's expression grew dead serious before he stood face to face with the Detroit native and looked down at him. "I really, _really_ suggest that you stay out of it."

"When my girlfriend is involved, it's my business as well." he said in a low, yet threatening tone of voice.

"She will not be your girlfriend anymore, and you will keep your nose out of the wedding of you know what's good for you." Del Rio replied.

"I'm willing to take that chance."

He nodded. "Big mistake, _ese_."

He flashed them a quick smile, before leaving the room. Meanwhile, Alex slowly shook his head while AJ grabbed his arm, preventing her boyfriend from going after him.

* * *

Meanwhile, CM Punk was currently in the ring on a one-on-one match against David Otunga, where Punk was dominating for the most part. With the match coming to a close, he dodged a punch from Otunga, lifted him over his shoulders, and he was connected with a knee to the face, the GTS. After that, Punk went for the cover as the ref counted, "1…2…3!"

The fans roared for their favorite once Punk stood over the turnbuckles and celebrated his victory with them, while Lillian announced, "Here is your winner, CM Punk!"

But what he didn't see was Chris Jericho slipping into the ring, about to attack him. Punk quickly turned around and dodged the punch that the Canadian was about to send to him, but suddenly had to stop short once he saw Mickie standing there.

"Mickie, get out of the ring, you're going to get hurt!" he cried.

She refused to say a word and looked up at him, innocently folding her hands across her chest.

"Mickie, did you hear me?—" Punk began, turning around right into a codebreaker by Jericho.

The crowd sent boos their way, as the blonde grinned sadistically and took in the fans' hatred. Punk soon stumbled up, but as soon as he stood up, he was knocked back down once Jericho clocked him in the head with his WWE Title. Breathing heavily, Chris looked down at his motionless enemy, before Mickie reluctantly grabbed his hand. She looked down at her former friend, and then looked up at Jericho who had his head raised up in triumph. Finally, the Diva gained her confidence and once again chose her boyfriend over anyone else, proudly raising Jericho's arm in victory, relishing in all the jeers from the fans. Jericho then leaned down, grabbed a mic, and told an unconscious Punk,

"With the lovely and beautiful Mickie James in my corner, I'll continue being the WWE Champion until The Powers That Be say otherwise."

With that, he dropped the mic and led Mickie out of the ring, mentally chalking up another win for him.

* * *

Fast forwarding to Saturday, both AJ and Alex were pissed as hell about the newly announced wedding plans, and she was sure that her father had something to do with it, anyway. It took some real convincing to Alex, but they both agreed that they had to go back to New Jersey to confront him…again.

"I can't believe we're back here again, April." Alex sighed, driving their rental car to her parents' house. "I mean, after he showed up on MY doorstep, and what I said to him, he's only gonna do the same to me."

"Alex, I don't want to be here just as much as you don't, but I need an explanation from him because I know that he has something to do with this wedding mess. Now come on, babe, I need you to side with me on this. I can't deal with him without you."

He turned to give her a smile and then a quick kiss before turning back to the road. "April, you know that I'm 100% on your side. But all I'm saying is that every time we come here, it seems to be worse than the last. I just don't want anyone ending up in jail, most likely me."

"Shells, I will NOT let him call the cops on you, believe that." she replied as they pulled in the driveway. "So...you ready?"

He gazed at her and leaned in to give her a passionate kiss before replying, "Ready if you are. Let's go."

Little did they know, her father Antonio was secretly watching the two from the window, quickly stepping away a few seconds after seeing them approach the front door. Before AJ could even knock, the front door flew open and Antonio demanded, "Get him out of my front yard."

"Alex and I aren't going anywhere until we get an explanation from you." AJ replied.

He looked to her and then Alex. "And in about 5 seconds, I will call the damn cops on this scumbag!"

Shelley tensed up, but AJ replied, "Look, I know you're angry about getting kicked off of our property the other day, but If you threaten to call the cops on Alex, you'll have to arrest me along with him. That's the way it's gonna go. Take it or leave it."

The older man grumbled something and then asked, "What do you want?"

"First of all, where's mommy? I want to speak to her."

"Your mother's not home. She chose to stay in a hotel for the time being."

"What?" the Diva asked, shocked. "What the hell did you do to make her move out of her own house?!"

"…We've just had a difference of opinion lately, that is all."

"She probably hates you for being such a bigot, am I right?" she snapped.

"How dare you speak to your father that way?" he hissed.

"I think that April can say whatever the hell she wants to, it's a free country." Alex finally spoke up.

"Did I ASK you to open your mouth?!"

"Alex can say whatever the hell he wants to as well! Now let's get to the point. Last Monday, I got the shock of my life when I find that I suddenly have a wedding with Alberto Del Rio next Monday. Come to think of it, it was an _arranged_ marriage. Meaning that someone's forcing me to marry him. Now Del Rio said that this was all his own plan, but I KNOW that you have everything to do with this, right? So, I want you to tell me everything you know about this."

He chuckled for a second, before clearing his throat. "The answer to that is very simple, dear. I will do whatever it takes to get rid of this scum standing beside you."

At this point, Alex was just about ready to reach in and rip Antonio's throat right out, but AJ snapped him out of his thoughts when she replied, "First of all, stop calling him that. Second, you shouldn't even be concerned with me and my life since I'm not your daughter anymore. Your words, not mine."

"Look, I am willing to give you one more chance and that is it. But if you do not marry Del Rio, your…man over here will be the one to pay for it."

The Diva was about to reply, but Alex beat her to the punch. "You know, you can stand there and threaten me all you want, I don't care. But either way, the wedding's not going to happen."

"Oh yeah? Well hear this – if you interfere, I will personally make sure that you'll never wrestle again." he replied with an evil gleam in the eye.

AJ gasped in fear of her boyfriend possibly getting hurt, and grabbed his arm, quickly leading him to their car. Not saying a word, she looked back at her father, furiously shaking her head. In the meantime, Alex yelled in the distance, "You're not going to do shit to me, you understand, pops?! YOU _UNDERSTAND?!_ "

Once they hopped in the car and drove off, he screamed out of his window, "SCREW YOU!"

Antonio on the other hand, just stood there and chuckled to himself, knowing totally well that his plan would go without fail, come Monday.


	71. Chapter 71

**Chapter 71**

Two days later, it was Monday once again and the day that April and Alex had been dreading since the announcement – her wedding to Alberto Del Rio. Eve and Beth refused to allow AJ to even speak to her boyfriend or her friends that night because they had to pull her aside to get her ready for the wedding. Now, Chris, Alex, Velvet, Punk, and Britani were all in the Guns' locker room…

"There's gotta be something we can do to stop all of this." announced Britani. "AJ doesn't deserve to be hitched to someone like Del Rio when she already has someone like you, Alex."

"Yeah, we never even got a chance to talk to her. Jeez, at least I could've been the one to do her hair and makeup." Velvet agreed.

Alex shot her a look while Chris told her, "Not helping, Vel."

"Well look, AJ's our friend, and we can't sit around here and do nothing while she's out there making the biggest mistake of her life, even if it IS against her own will." spoke up Punk.

Alex unfolded his arms and paced around the room like he always did when he was feeling down. "There's nothing that you guys could do or else you might get hurt out there. As for me…I don't know."

Chris looked up at him. "Dude. What do you mean, you don't know?"

"I mean…after she and I went back to her pop's house, he mentioned that if I had come anywhere near the wedding, he'd personally make sure that I'd never wrestle again." he announced, to shocked looks from his friends.

"Seriously? Alex, you can't listen to him, he was probably just trying to scare you." Punk replied.

"Yeah, from what you told me, isn't her pop a pompous bastard, anyway?" asked Britani.

"Pompous bastard is the easy way of putting it." Shelley chuckled bitterly. "But still, I couldn't get those words out of my head during the last two days. What if he means it, you guys? What if he does something drastic to end my wrestling career for good? I've wanted to be a wrestler ever since I was about 10 or 11 years old and I loved it ever since, so I couldn't bear to just wake up one day and never be able to do it again."

Sabin grabbed his best friend and turned him around so that they were facing one another. "Alex, I understand that wrestling is probably your first love, but isn't AJ your first _true_ love?"

"How could you even ask something like that, Sab? You know that she is." he replied seriously.

"Then if you really love her, you're going to have to make a choice here. Yeah, her pop may have threatened you, but isn't AJ worth it? She's bent over backwards to do just about everything and anything for you, and this is the ultimate test to show how much you really love her. Shells, you can't just sit here and watch her marry another guy that isn't you. You know that, right?" he asked.

Alex nodded. "You're right. Even though I'm personally nowhere near ready for marriage, I may want to someday, and I want April to be the one woman I give that engagement ring to." he agreed, before growing more pissed. "And I will be damned to hell before I even think about letting Del Rio steal her away from me."

The others nodded and smiled along.

"Right on, Lex! Now you go on out there and stop this mess from happening!" exclaimed Britani.

"And don't worry, if one of Johnny's goons tries to stop you, we'll be your backup…well, just Chris will be actually, cause I have a match to get ready for and I gotta take Britani with me." Punk smirked.

"You jerk." Alex chuckled.

"Oh, am I not enough for you, Alex?" Chris demanded with a playful smile.

"Well, you whine, bitch, and moan too much, so uh, I'll have to get back to you on that. But seriously, I gotta be ready to fight out there, just in case. I can't lose her to him." he replied certainly.

* * *

Moments later, the wedding was scheduled to begin. The ring was decorated with gold and white balloons, a nicely designed mini gazebo, and the minister was already standing there in the ring. Soon enough, Del Rio's theme music blasted through the arena with the fans' usual boos in tow. From the side of the ramp, he arrived driving a 2013 Rolls Royce which was decked out in gold. Keeping up with the theme, Alberto stood up and admired himself while he was wearing a black suit with a gold tie, gold designs on his pants, and gold tipped shoes. With his jacket being rather long, Ricardo Rodriguez was shown walking behind him and holding his coattails so that they wouldn't get dirty. The crowd at ringside just had to laugh at this.

Soon enough, they both ended up into the ring. Del Rio whispered something to the minister, before an evil grin slowly spread across his face, waiting for his bride. But…there was no sign of her. He waited a few more moments, and when he believed that she was a no-show, he snatched a mic and announced, "April?! I know you're back there, honey. Now you remember the deal, if you do not arrive to the ring right now to this wedding, I will personally—"

He stopped once the wedding march began playing, and an angry AJ finally arrived at the top of the ramp, in her white strapless lace tea-length cap sleeved gown. She looked down her future 'husband' from a distance and scowled, reluctantly heading down to the ring. Then, thoughts of her boyfriend ran through her head, and she thought of how hurt he must've been feeling at that moment. A tear ran down her cheek. "Oh, Alex, I'm so sorry…I don't want to do this to you." she told herself, stepping into the ring.

Finally, Del Rio had that million dollar smile plastered onto his face as he kissed her hand. Grimacing, she quickly wiped her hand clean over her dress, before crossing her arms.

After a moment, the minister began speaking. "Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here today to witness the joining of the Bride and Groom in the most important moment of their lives. Now, what is marriage? Marriage is that relationship between…"

While he tailed on with the long and boring speech, AJ rolled her eyes and kept her arms crossed, just waiting for all of this crap to be over with. Del Rio had noticed the look on her face and muttered, "Hey. I expect to see a smile on your face, that is a part of the deal!"

"I don't have to do shit." she muttered. The Diva hardly ever cursed, but she was pissed.

"You do not speak to me with that foul language of yours! I bet that pathetic boyfriend of yours taught you to say that, right? Right?"

"Maybe." she shrugged. "And he's one hell of a lot sexier than you are, for starters."

He frowned and muttered back, "Look, don't mention that Shelley again, this is our ceremony! Now be a good bride and smile for me! You will do what is told of you and you will LIKE IT. Am I understood?"

"Eh…stupid looking bastard…" she muttered.

"Ok, now we will begin the vows. Alberto, would you like to start?" asked the minister.

"Why yes, yes I would. Ahem. Dear April, you have been the apple of my eye ever since we first met, and I promise to share my incredible wealth and pass some of my wisdom down to you. For starters, I will transform you into a lady of class, not some Converse wearing, video game playing, comic book reading tomboy!" he began, while AJ was forced to bite her tongue to prevent her from screaming at him. He continued, "I will also make sure that you never see that punk of a boyfriend, Alex Shelley ever again, and if he ever comes near you again, I will deal with him myself."

The Diva balled her hands into fists.

"Finally, I will surely be the greatest husband in the history of history, so peasants out there in the crowd, deal with it! Hahaha!"

The fans sent a huge chorus of boos right back at him, before the minister announced, "AJ, do you have anything to say to Alberto?"

"Hell n—"

"Uh, yes, she has her own prewritten vows." Del Rio replied, handing her a paper. "Read every word as it's written."

She quickly looked over the vows and gasped. "You can't be serious—"

"Just READ IT!" he shouted, startling her.

Sighing, she lifelessly read, "'By becoming Alberto's wife, I will be the greatest wife that I am obligated to be. To begin, I will...tend to his every need, including but not limited to…massaging his feet, cooking him dinner and…oh, my God."

"READ IT!"

"…Giving him sex whenever he desires." she paused, already feeling sick while the crowd expressed their disgust. She continued, "Once I become Alberto's wife, I will no longer…want anything to do with…with…"

Alberto urged her to continue.

"…Alex Shelley ever again, as he will..." she paused, feeling worse than ever once her voice broke. "…no longer be a part of my life." After she said that, she just happened to turn around to see a heartbroken Alex standing at the top of the ramp, under the Titantron. She had never seen him look so vulnerable or terrified before, and he could see the same exact look in her eyes as well. Del Rio snapped her out of it by turning her around.

The minister continued, "Alberto, do you take April Jeanette to be your lawfully wedded wife, to love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, and forsaking all others, for so long as you both shall live?"

He smirked and replied, "I do."

"And April Jeanette, do you take Alberto to be your lawfully wedded husband, to love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, and forsaking all others, for so long as you both shall live?"

"I…I…" she uttered, turning back to Alex who quickly shook his head in disapproval and urged for her to reject him. Finally, she turned back to Alberto and with confidence, she replied, "I think you can go screw yourself."

The fans began cheering in favor of the Diva, as Alberto grew shocked. "What? WHAT?!"

Alex grinned at this and clapped his hands.

"You just made a HUGE mistake, little girl and you will PAY!" the aristocrat barked, shoving the minister out of one side of the ring and Ricardo out of the other side. Before he could do anything to her, though, the cheers increased once Shelley sped into the ring, tackling down Del Rio and sending an angry barrage of punches and kicks his way. AJ smiled at this, and smiled even wider after tearing off her dress, revealing her jean shorts, converses, and her matching MMG shirt. The tiny Diva joined Alex in beating up Alberto while the crowd chanted, "MMG! MMG! MMG!"

Once Ricardo tried to climb back into the ring, Alex superkicked him, AJ superkicked him, and they both sent him right back out with a double superkick. Once they turned back to Alberto, they were totally unaware once Dolph and Eve slid into the ring and tackled them both down from behind, starting a beatdown of their own. Not long after that, the cheers grew once again when Sabin slid into the ring to avenge his partners by first taking out Dolph with a cross-legged Samoan driver. Before he could pull Eve off of AJ, a few referees ran into the ring and had to pull everyone apart.

The crowd chanted, "LET THEM FIGHT! LET THEM FIGHT!"

Soon enough, order was somewhat restored once Alberto, Dolph, and Eve were on one side of the ring and Alex, Chris, and AJ were on the other.

"Excuse me, everyone…" a familiar hoarse voice announced.

Everyone turned to see Mr. Laurinitis over the Titantron as they sent a massive amount of boos his way. He continued, "Now, I'm very upset that the wedding had turned out this way, but after some careful thinking over the last few weeks, I have a match in store that will end all of this. At Summerslam, you, Alex, will face Alberto here in a one on one match. But not just ANY one on one match. It'll be…a stretcher match." he announced, to cheers from the crowd. He smirked. "People Power!" he cheered before the screen faded to black.

Alex smirked too, and nodded towards Del Rio who smiled right back. A threatening smile at that.

Ziggler quickly grabbed a mic before any of them could leave. "One more thing – Eve and I are going to be right in Alberto's corner at ringside. Take that!"

Chris grabbed another mic and replied, "Ok, virgin, that's quite all right because AJ and I are going to be right in Alex's corner as well, so we're gonna have one hell of a fight on our hands. Hit our music!"

Finally, the Guns' theme music blasted through the arena as the fans continued chanting for their favorite team, once Alex, AJ, and Chris slipped out of the ring and eyed down their enemies inside of the ring. One thing was for sure: the Guns' first Summerslam was shaping up to be an interesting one.


	72. Chapter 72

**Chapter 72**

Meanwhile, CM Punk and Britani were walking backstage, about to get ready for Punk's match later that night…

"Glad to see that Alex made the right choice and went out there to save AJ." Punk announced. "Shows how much he's really dedicated to her if he's willing to risk everything."

"Oh, I know, it's so bloody sweet!" Britani exclaimed. "But now I just hope that AJ's father doesn't go ballistic and goes on his word to hurt him. You think he will?"

"Even if he tried, Alex could definitely stand up to him, and even if he needs backup, you, me, AJ, and Chris have got his back." he replied, holding her hand.

"Damn right we would." she agreed. "Sooo…if I were in the same situation as AJ, would you be my knight in shining armor and save me from the baddies out there?"

The tattooed Superstar smiled and kissed her hand. "You kidding? Of course I'd save the British beauty from the bad guys and then I'd kick their sorry asses to Timbuktu by tomorrow! And I don't even know where Timbuktu is." he joked.

She laughed.

"What? I never paid attention in World History back in high school." Punk chuckled.

But once they turned the corner to find Jericho and Mickie holding hands, their smiles faded.

"Oh. Hi, guys." Mickie said slowly.

Britani looked pretty pissed. "I can't believe you even have the gall to look into our faces and talk to us."

"Oh? What's got you so pissed off?" the Country Diva asked bitterly.

"Do you even need to ask? Punk told me about all the times Jericho here attacked him and you just stood there and watched instead of doing anything to help him!" she snapped. "What the hell kind of friend are you?"

"Sweetie, where have you been lately? Punk and I aren't friends anymore, he told me himself."

"Well, we're not, Mickie! Friends of mine don't hang out with enemies of mine and stab me in the back." Punk replied, glaring at the Country Diva. "You used to be such a better person than this."

"And you used to be one of my best friends." Britani agreed, looking her dead in the eye.

"Look, people! The old Mickie that you've known and loved is gone! The new Mickie is the first ever Women's MITB winner, and I am eventually going to cash this beautiful briefcase in to win the Diva's championship! Now if neither of you like it, tough! I'm my own woman now and I'm finally out of AJ's shadow."

"I think you're just jealous of AJ. She's sweet, very talented, and she's the new hottest Diva around here. Are you just upset that you're old news?" Britani asked with a smirk.

Mickie balled her hands into fists. "No."

"Look, stop jerking Mickie around, all right?" Jericho spoke up on her behalf. "With my help, she's moving on to bigger and better things, and I intend to help her get what she truly deserves."

"You're the _cause_ of all of this, so why don't you just shut your damn mouth right about now?!" Punk demanded.

"Aww. Punk, are you afraid that I might attack you and try to break your arm again?" he asked mockingly. "I mean, I can be cold, but I'm not a monster."

"That's true. Monsters aren't fake Jon Bon Jovi wannabes who wear pimped out looking, Bright-Light jackets." Punk retorted while Britani chuckled.

Jericho snarled, but then composed himself. "Petty words from someone who's not carrying this title over their shoulder anymore."

Punk grew serious.

"Look, both of you. You two are nothing but phonies right about now. Jericho can't win anything without Mickie's help, and Mickie's just jealous that she's been shoved aside to second place. Hell, even I'm gaining my own following around here and they all seem to love me! Too bad I can no longer say the same for you." Britani snapped.

Enraged, Mickie growled and had no other choice but to send a sharp slap across her face. Then, she grabbed Chris's hand and hastily led him away.

Britani gasped, still holding her cheek before turning to Punk. "…Did you just SEE that?!"

He tentatively touched her cheek and then glared in their direction. "Just forget them, baby, they're just bitter losers." he replied. "You ok?"

Once they had their backs turned, though, they didn't see both Jericho and Mickie jump them both from behind, attacking their respective enemies with all that they had.

Jericho tried to go for Punk's bad arm once again, but the Straightedge Superstar managed to kick the Canadian away and sent a few punches his way in retaliation. Mickie and Britani were busy rolling around on the ground, pulling each other's hair and trying to claw away at one another. Before things could get any worse, Punk got up and pulled Britani away while Jericho did the same with Mickie.

The British Diva was livid. "You want to be that way, bitch?! Come on, take me again, I'll kick your ass!" she screamed.

"Say that to my FACE! Get over here and say it!" Mickie screamed back.

"Control your girlfriend, Punk, she's out of control!" Jericho exclaimed.

"Oh no, YOUR girlfriend's the homicidal maniac, control her!" he cried back.

"You know what, I want Mickie at Summerslam! I WANT HER!" Britani announced.

And it just so happened that Johnny Ace was conveniently strolling around the corner. Walking past them, he said, "Well, let's make it official. Punk and Britani, you two will take on Jericho and Mickie for the WWE Championship at Summerslam. Hooray for People Power." he smiled, walking off and leaving four very pissed off people in his wake.


	73. Chapter 73

**Chapter 73**

Fast forwarding to the next Sunday, it was August 19, and the night of Summerslam from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Alex was preparing himself to the limit for his stretcher match against Alberto Del Rio, and AJ and Chris were by his side helping him train throughout the week. Meanwhile, Punk hadn't seen Britani all morning since she had to run a few errands, and had kept calling her to find out where the hell she was. He was hoping that she'd be there with him for their match against Jericho and Mickie later that night. Now, though, the Guns were in their locker room, helping Alex prepare for his match…

"Ok, baby, stretcher matches are pretty brutal, but you've faced worse before and you're going to make Del Rio wish he'd never messed with us in the first place." AJ smiled, massaging his shoulders.

"She's right, and we'll both be there at ringside to fight off Dolph and Eve if they do anything stupid to mess you up." agreed Chris.

"Oh, I know that they're going to make stupid decisions, because that's what their parents made when Dolph and Eve were born." Alex joked, eliciting a few laughs from the two. "But seriously, guys, I appreciate you two being by my side through all of this, and I promise I'm going to destroy Del Rio out there for you, April. Nobody tries to marry my girl and gets away with it."

She smiled and wrapped him in a passionate kiss. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

"Aww, what about me?" Chris pouted.

"Aw, fine, I love ya too, dillweed. Want a kiss?" Alex asked, chuckling.

"Uh no, thanks." he shook his head.

"Yeah, Shelley, I don't want my Chris to catch rabies if you try and kiss him." Velvet agreed, joining them with a Red Bull.

He shot her a look. "Oh who asked you, Hyena? Hey, that Red Bull for me?"

"No, it's for me!" she exclaimed. "Duh!"

Alex threatened to wring her neck by making a motion with his hand, but shook it off once Chris said, "Ok, dude, time to save the insults for later, this is our first ever Summerslam and we got a match to go to."

"Yeah, let's get going. Later, Della Beast." Alex told Velvet before grabbing AJ's hand and heading out.

Velvet gave him the finger while Chris asked, "You sure you're going to be all right in here alone while we're gone?"

"I'll be fine, you just make sure you guys don't get yourselves killed out there." she smiled, giving him a kiss. "Love you."

"Love you, too." he finished before Shelley had to drag him out.

* * *

Later, the match was about to begin…

Lillian stood in the middle of the ring and announced the rules of the match. "Ladies and gentlemen, in the following Stretcher match, the rules are that there are no countouts, no disqualifications, and the only way to win is to place your opponent on the stretcher, wheeling him past the yellow line."

_"Hundred miles an hour on a dead end road_

_I need a little Detroit in my soul_

_Every night's hotel a different name_

_It's part of the game_

_Everybody wants to be just like me_

_Fame and fortune is their fantasy_

_I gotta get back where the life was pretty_

_Rockin all the way to the Motorcity_

_Motorcity, motorcity, motorcity, I'm rockin' all the way to the motorcity..."_

As the Guns' theme blasted through the arena, and the fans cheered, Lillian continued, "This match is scheduled for one fall! Approaching the ring first from Detroit, Michigan, weighing in at 215 pounds and accompanied by Chris Sabin and AJ Lee, Alex Shelley!"

The crowd continued cheering for the Detroit native once he posed his 'Guns' sign and he, along with his teammates headed down the ramp and towards the ring. There were about three other stretchers placed across the ramp, and Shelley rocked one around just to see how strong it was, nodding in satisfaction before climbing into the ring.

Next, Del Rio's theme was heard around the arena as the massive boos continued. Now, backstage, Alberto had told Ricardo to stay backstage since he already had Dolph and Eve as his backup, so that's why Lillian was allowed to do his ring introduction this one time.

"And his opponent from San Luis Potosi, Mexico, weighing in at 239 pounds and accompanied by Dolph Ziggler and Eve Torres, Alberto Del Rio!"

The three drove out in a 2013 Dodge Charger and soon strolled up the ramp, ignoring all of the boos while Del Rio had on his million dollar smile. He looked around at all of the stretchers and smirked, knowing that he had this match AND would impress AJ at the same time. Once he climbed into the ring, Dolph and Eve stayed out on one side of the ring, as Chris and AJ stood on the opposite side. Shelley sent a death glare towards Alberto, mentally vowing to destroy him after everything that he's done, and before he could run right for him, the ref held them apart before finally calling for the bell.

Dolph quickly slid the hard plastic part of a stretcher into the ring where Alberto quickly picked it up, and swung right towards Shelley, who ducked at the last second. The Detroit native quickly sent a quick slur of punches and kicks at Alberto, totally throwing him off guard and sending him back. Then before he could grab it himself, Shelley grabbed the plastic stretcher piece and whacked Del Rio over the back with it countless times, causing him to cry out in pain with each blow. Soon enough, Shelley decked him with the item so much that Alberto and the stretcher came tumbling over the top rope and out of the ring, as the fans cheered in reply.

Not giving him a chance to compose himself, Alex slid out of the ring, grabbed the stretcher, and whacked Del Rio over the back with it a few times before proceeding to jam the item in the aristocrat's midsection a few more times. Dropping the stretcher, Shelley was about to attack again, but Del Rio fought back by kicking the smaller man in the midsection, followed by a double knee backbreaker to keep him still.

After that, he grabbed the stretcher and placed it against one of the ringposts, before lifting Shelley over his shoulders and was about to ram him into the open stretcher. Right before he could, though, Alex leapt out of Del Rio's grasp and shoved him right into the stretcher instead, ruining his own plan. Where they were standing, Chris and AJ cheered for their fellow Gun, while Eve and Dolph were angrily calling for Del Rio to keep up the fight.

Alex kicked Del Rio down again for good measure, and then tossed the plastic stretcher aside. He approached one of the padded wheeled stretchers and an evil smile crept onto his face before he rolled the stretcher to where the metal end rammed Del Rio square in the jaw, sending him flat on his back. He groaned as Alex approached him, but before he could attack, Alberto fought back by getting up and slugging him in the gut once again. After a few more punches, Alberto lifted the Detroit native up, held him over the open stretcher, and dropped him down so that he landed roughly on his midsection. Shelley cried out in pain as he fell to his knees and held onto his abdomen, as Eve and Dolph rooted Del Rio on.

Del Rio carelessly kicked over the fallen stretcher and then picked up his enemy by the hair. Then, he changed his mind and let go, instead picking up the plastic stretcher and whacking the Detroit native over the back with the item. AJ worriedly looked on for her boyfriend and was about to approach him, but Chris had to hold her back to prevent her from getting hurt. Next, Del Rio looked down at his enemy and stalked after him, before picking him up and rolling him into the ring.

Once they were both into the ring again, Shelley made it to his feet first and attacked the Mexican with a reverse STO into the middle turnbuckle. With the Mexican cornered, Alex rammed him into the corner ringpost a few more times and was then about to swing him across to the other side of the ring, but Del Rio stopped him with a bridging German suplex, taking him down. After that, Alberto slid out of the ring to grab the plastic stretcher and slid it back into the ring, placing Shelley's prone body over it. With him in his fixed position, Del Rio had on a sadistic smile before leaping up and crashing onto Shelley's chest with a massive leg drop.

AJ called out to Alex, while Chris had to keep holding her back and Del Rio dragged Shelley and the stretcher to the edge of the ring. He climbed out to grab one of the wheeled stretchers and placed Shelley over that one. Next, he smiled once he had his enemy right where he wanted him, and eyed the yellow finish line over the top of the ramp.

"Alex!" AJ cried, running to stop them, but Eve ran across to stop AJ instead by holding her back. The tiny Diva growled and managed to wrestle herself out of the Latina's grasp, and then attacked her by shoving her right into one of the open stretchers, tumbling her over.

Meanwhile, Del Rio was just about to roll Alex and the stretcher up the ramp, but was stopped once Shelley kicked the larger man away from him. Alberto was taken back a bit, but snarled before nearly taking Shelley's head off with a monster clothesline which sent him flying off of the stretcher and onto the ground. Then, before Alex could get back up, Del Rio grabbed the plastic stretcher and whacked it across the younger man's back once again, and then proceeded to punch him back a few times, sending him back towards the ring.

The two men battled it out over the ramp with Shelley getting the advantage one second and Del Rio getting the advantage the next. When Alberto lifted up Alex's head so that their eyes met, he muttered, "I WILL steal AJ away from you!" But before he could act on that statement, Shelley fought back with a surprise uppercut. Then, he grabbed the plastic stretcher and whacked it across Del Rio's back once again, and again, and again until he was forced down onto his knees. Once Alex grabbed a few cables from off of the ground, the fans began cheering in approval, and Dolph knew what was coming next. To stop him, he approached Shelley and punched him across the back a few times, but fortunately Chris came to the rescue by taking Ziggler out with a no-handed suicide dive from over the top rope.

In the meantime, Alex wrapped the cable around Alberto's neck, using all of his anger and strength to choke the bigger man out until he was nearly incapacitated. "Come on, bitch, COME ON!" he screamed, tightening his grip while the fans chanted his name. Once Del Rio was barely moving on the floor, Shelley let go of the cable, with it still wrapped around Alberto's neck. He then approached the plastic stretcher and whacked it over Del Rio's back again for good measure, and wheeled over a second stretcher. Alex lifted the larger man to his feet and choked him again, before placing him onto the stretcher.

Soon after, he began rolling him towards the finish line, but aside from being wrapped around Del Rio's neck, the cord was also attached to one of the lights at ringside, so Alex was unable to drag him anywhere. With one last tug of the stretcher, the wheeled object jerked forward, sending Alberto flying off in one direction and Alex tumbling back into another. The two men slowly got back up to their feet, but before Alex could attack Del Rio, he fought back with an arsenal of moves that sent Shelley stumbling back once again. When the Mexican approached him, he didn't have a chance to react once Shelley leapt up and grabbed onto a steel pole suspended above, using both feet to kick the aristocrat back.

After that, Alex capitalized with a cross-armed scoop brainbuster, taking both of them down on the hard concrete. Again, both men were slow to get up, but the Detroit native managed to beat Del Rio to the punch, once he grabbed onto his enemy and slammed him down onto the open stretcher with a reverse piledriver hold which lifted him and dropped him into a wheelbarrow facebuster, causing him to bounce off of the stretcher and land onto the floor.

For a few moments, both men took a little break to compose themselves, while Chris and AJ ran to Alex and coached for him to keep up the fight. An angry Dolph and Eve were dead set on revenge though, once they took Sabin and Lee down from behind, beginning a separate brawl at ringside. Alex and Chris took a chance to double team Dolph with an aided snap swinging neckbreaker, and they both threateningly lunged towards Eve, who leapt back into AJ. Once she turned around, the tiny Diva attacked the Latina with a Shining Wizard, taking her out for a little while.

With Chris and AJ busy with their respective opponents, Alex turned back to Del Rio, who was finally getting to his feet. Shelley grabbed the rolling stretcher and pulled it back a few feet, before forcefully ramming the stretcher right into the Mexican's midsection. Before Shelley could repeat his move, Del Rio grabbed onto the other end of the stretcher, and the two basically played tug of war with the weapon, trying to ram the object into each other's abdomens. Alberto eventually got the momentum by ramming the stretcher into Shelley, who crashed back-first into the side of the ring.

After another few jabs of the stretcher, Shelley cried out in pain, holding his abdomen and sliding to the floor. Meanwhile, an angry and pumped Alberto lifted the stretcher into the air before slamming it down to the ground, letting out a scream as the boos continued on. Alex soon made it back up to his feet, trying to gain some offensive on the older man, but Del Rio stopped him once he lifted up the Detroit native and slammed him back first into the corner turnbuckle, partly causing him to hit the back of his head against the pole as well.

Alberto looked under the ring to pick up another plastic stretcher, and went on to whack the object across the Detroit native's back a few more times, causing him to cringe in pain. Not giving him a chance to recover, Del Rio rolled his opponent into the ring, standing on the edge of the ring soon after. Before he was about to capitalize, Shelley surprised him by quickly getting up and speeding back to the ropes, and then running back ahead with a superkick to the Mexican. He nearly fell off of the ring edge, but held onto the rope with one hand. Alex repeated the move again with a second superkick, which was good enough to send Del Rio flying off, landing onto the open stretcher, and landing face first onto the ground.

As the cheers began again, Alex took a moment to regain his strength before climbing out of the ring, kicking aside another stretcher, and then joining Chris and AJ, whispering something to them before heading back up the ramp and appeared to be headed backstage somewhere. The two exchanged puzzled looks, as did Del Rio, who slowly got up. Dolph and Eve were roughed up and tossed over a few stretchers throughout the match, so they were no help to anyone.

Alberto climbed—or rolled back into the ring for a few moments, but then looked up to find Chris and AJ looking him down. The two Guns looked at one another and chuckled, kicking the aristocrat a few times until he grew pissed and quickly got back up to his feet. Sabin and Lee were taken back a bit and slowly backed up as the taller man's eyes began bugging out and he began to corner them both. After a silent stare, Del Rio had no mercy once he grabbed both of them by the throats and was about to attack them both on the spot, even AJ. The two looked at one another with terrified looks, but then surprised Del Rio by kicking him in the gut, causing him to let them go. AJ was a little bundle of anger at the moment, and took her chance to kick her enemy in the balls, sending him down to his knees.

After that, Chris had lifted Del Rio onto his shoulders, near the corner turnbuckles, where AJ climbed to the top of that same turnbuckle. Next, she grabbed Alberto in a three quarter facelock and leapt backwards into the ring, still holding onto Del Rio's neck while Sabin helped to slam the aristocrat down to the mat. The fans chanted, "MMG! MMG! MMG!" as they smiled at one another and knuckle punched.

Suddenly, a crash was heard and they, along with the crowd turned to the front to find Shelley driving down the ramp with a forklift! The fans roared at this as AJ and Chris exchanged surprised, yet excited looks. Del Rio's head shot up and he uttered something in Spanish while he looked up, wide eyed once Shelley parked the forklift right in front of the ring. Alberto stumbled to his feet, but was distracted once Chris and AJ performed a double enzuigiri to the Mexican, when he didn't see Alex standing over the top of the forklift.

Once he did turn around, Alex took an amazing leap off and took his enemy down in one fell swoop. Capturing the energy from the crowd, the Detroit native finished Del Rio off with a cross-legged fisherman brainbuster, followed by a swinging fisherman suplex, and finally a springboard into a tornado DDT. With the Mexican probably out, Alex asked for Chris and AJ to place the plastic stretcher over the front platform of the forklift, and they did so while Alex dragged Del Rio to the end of the ring and managed to place him onto the stretcher.

When he was on, the crowd began going nuts as Alex climbed into the driver's seat and revved up the engine. Next, the platform lifted up, with Del Rio's unconscious body dangling about 15 feet in the air, while Shelley backed the forklift up the ramp.

"HOLY SHIT! HOLY SHIT! HOLY SHIT!" the crowd cheered in response.

The machine backed up with ease over the yellow line, crowning Shelley as the winner of the match. The fans roared once the Guns' theme music blasted through the arena, as Lillian announced Alex as the winner, and both Chris and AJ ran to congratulate him by raising his arms in the air in victory. Looking up at Del Rio's dangling carcass in the air, Alex chuckled bitterly and called, "HOW DO YOU LIKE ME NOW, BITCH?!"

This was definitely a first Summerslam that the Guns would never forget.

* * *

**_AN: This is probably my favorite match out of the whole story, lol. Inspired by another awesome match I saw on Youtube once. The WWE Title match is up next._**


	74. Chapter 74

**Chapter 74**

Later that evening, Punk was backstage, freaking out over Britani's whereabouts since she never even showed up…

"Babe?" he called, on his cell. "Please, please pick up."

After a few moments, she finally answered back, _"Punk, is that you?"_

"Yeah! Babe, where the hell are you? I haven't seen you at the hotel, and you're still not here. Our match starts in just a few minutes!" he exclaimed.

"_I tried to call you, but my cell phone suddenly died out somehow. I'm calling from a pay phone."_

"Well, where are you now and do you think that you'll make it here in time?"

"_I was on my way to the arena, but my car suddenly stopped. Turns out that I have a mysterious flat tire and now I'm waiting for the tow truck to get here. I-I don't think I'm going to make it there in time for the match."_

He sighed heavily. "Damn."

"_I am so sorry, Punkers, I wish I could be there! I don't want you to have to face them on your own."_

"No, babe, it's all right. It's not your fault. Besides, I've competed in handicapped matches before, so this should be no sweat. Hopefully."

"_Well, I know that you can do it, baby. Win the title for me, ok?"_

Punk smiled. "I sure damn will. I love you."

"_I love you too, Punkers." _Britani replied.

After hanging up, Punk paced the halls and wondered how the hell her cell suddenly died out and how she suddenly got a flat tire. Right then and there, Mickie and Jericho walked by.

"Hey, Punk. Ready for our match in a few minutes?" Jericho replied.

"If you mean if I'm ready to kick your ass, then yeah, I am." he said flatly.

Mickie looked around. "Where's Britani? Shouldn't she be here giving you some special pre-match massage or something?"

He gave her a look. "Well, for some apparent reason, she's not here and she won't be able to make it to the arena on time. Her cell died out and she somehow got a mysterious flat tire on the way, so she won't be able to be in the match."

"Oh my! That's a crying shame. Buuuut…maybe the mysterious flat tire wasn't really…mysterious. Maybe someone did it. Who knows?" the Country Diva replied with an evil grin.

"Wait. What the hell are you trying to say?!" Punk demanded, approaching her.

Jericho stopped him. "What we're trying to say is that this match has changed into a straight one-on-one match. Me vs. you for the title, and Mickie will be proudly in my corner. Sounds good?"

Even if it was a one on one match, Punk still felt that it was like a handicapped match due to Mickie being there, but he shrugged it off. "Fine."

"Good! Now c'mon, baby, let's watch me retain my beautiful title, because I am the Best in the World." the Canadian replied, grabbing her hand while he sent Punk another look and headed out.

Meanwhile, CM slowly shook his head and narrowed his eyes. He knew they had a part in Britani's car troubles, and he was dead set on winning back HIS title for her.

* * *

Moments later…

The lights in the arena shut off and the place was filled with darkness until Jericho's lighted silhouette was seen at the top of the ramp. Soon after, the lights came back on as Chris's theme began blasting through the arena.

_Come on, Jerichoooo_

_You know I got ya, yeah_

_One, Break the wall DOWN!_

_(Break down the walls)_

_For those about to rock and what you want_

_Baby you know you're Judas and I'm your priest_

_Baby what I got is not from the least_

_Bring it through the stage in the rage of a beast…_

The fans sent jeers their way as Lillian announced, "This match is scheduled for one fall and it is for the WWE Championship! Approaching the ring first from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, accompanied by Mickie James, he is the current WWE Champion, Chris Jericho!"

Jericho proudly strolled down to the ring, hand and hand with his girlfriend and ignoring the reaction from the crowd. Before he stepped into the ring, he leaned down and shared a passionate kiss with the Country Diva, before she took her place at ringside. Seconds later, Punk's theme was heard around the arena as the fans went wild for their favorite.

_Look in my eyes, what do you see?_

_The cult of personality_

_I know your anger, I know your dreams_

_I've been everything you want to be_

_I'm the cult of personality..."_

"And the challenger, weighing in at 218 pounds from Chicago, Illinois, CM Punk!"

Punk kneeled down and brushed the ground with his fingers before exclaiming, "IT'S CLOBBERIN' TIME!"

The fans were totally on his side as he approached the ring, and paused once he saw Jericho looking right back at him with that silly grin of his spread right over his face. Once he shook it off, he climbed into the ring and posed for the fans over the corner turnbuckle. The ref held up the WWE title for all to see, before calling for the bell.

Both Jericho and Punk circled one another, trying to find a good first move, and when Punk sent a jab his way, Jericho dodged and scuffled around, slowly trying to find a way to attack. Soon after, the two Superstars locked up, trying to find some offensive on the other, until Punk managed to back Jericho into the corner turnbuckles. There, he unleashed his anger by attacking the Canadian with a slur of punches across the chest, and the ref had to step in and separate Punk to allow Jericho a few seconds to breathe.

CM raised his hands in defense, but once he gunned for Jericho again, the Canadian quickly slid out of the way, allowing Punk to crash into the turnbuckles. There, Chris attacked with a few backhand chops to Punk's chest, before topping it off with a tiger suplex. Quickly going for the pin, he was only good for a two count. Punk tried to get to his feet, but Jericho remembered his injured arm and smiled rather evilly.

Punk saw the look in his eyes and immediately retaliated by getting back to his feet and grabbing Jericho's arm, twisting it backwards until he had begun to feel the same pain that he himself had felt. Jericho winced at this while Mickie coached her boyfriend on at ringside, hoping to sneak in now and then to assist. Punk applied more pressure onto the Canadian's arm, but Jericho managed to power out after nudging the tattooed Superstar in the chest a few times, forcing him to let go. Capitalizing on this, Jericho ran towards the ropes and leapt off with a corkscrew, giving Punk a running back elbow and sending him down again. Unfortunately for Punk, he landed right onto his bad arm.

Wincing in pain, he grabbed onto his arm and tried to shake it off, but Jericho smiled once again as he roughly stomped onto his arm, causing the former Champion to cry out and maneuver himself to the other side of the ring. Chris refused to let him get away before attacking the bad arm once again, twisting it back to the point where Punk screamed for mercy. The ref kept asking him if he wanted to quit, but he would be damned to let a bad arm ruin his shot at the title. He retaliated by punching Jericho a few times in the face to get him off, and then got to his feet, capitalizing with a roundhouse kick, sending Jericho down to the canvas.

Before Punk could attack again, Jericho rolled out of the ring and rushed to Mickie, who combed back his hair and gave him a kiss to assure him that things would be all right. When they looked up, Mickie rushed out of harm's way once Punk leapt out of the ring with a suicide dive, taking Jericho down again in one fell swoop. The fans cheered again for the tattooed Superstar, chanting his name, while he sent a look Mickie's way as she sent him a look in return and scoffed. When Punk looked around for Jericho, though, he had no time to react once the Canadian sped right for him and rammed Punk back-first onto the side of the ring.

Groaning in pain, he slid down, but Jericho didn't give him a chance to rest once he grabbed him by the neck and sent him crashing against the barricades, once again hitting the bad arm. Punk seethed and tightly grabbed his arm once again, but once he looked up and saw Jericho's boot about to connect, he quickly dodged the attack, sending Chris crashing into and tumbling over the barricade. Groaning, Jericho tried to pull himself together as Punk steadily climbed to the other side with his opponent, grabbing him by the hair and punching him across the face a few more times. Jericho fought back with a few punches of his own, and the two grappled, both tumbling over the barricades and landing back near the ring again.

Mickie urged for Jericho to get back up, but backed away once Punk got up first and chuckled a little, saying, "Can't help your boyfriend now, cause if you touch him, he automatically loses."

"He can't lose the title by disqualification, remember? So HA!" she smirked back.

He glared at her again before turning around into a Northern Lights suplex, courtesy of Jericho. After that, he pulled Punk back up and rolled him into the ring before taunting, "You think you're the Best in the World? DO YA?!"

With that, came a Diving European uppercut, followed by a flying forearm smash. Jericho went for the pin, but only got a two count.

When Chris was aiming to attack Punk once again, Punk fought back with a rough kick to his opponent's shin, and then with another kick to the Canadian's chest. Once the Chicago native made it back to his feet, he kept the attack going on Jericho by taking him by the arm and swinging him towards the ropes. The blonde bounced off of the ropes with a springboard plancha, but missed once Punk nailed him first with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. He went for the cover, only for Jericho to kick out at two and a half. Before Jericho could get up himself, Punk pulled him up to his feet and took him back with a few Irish whips to the chest, as the crowd cried, "WOO!" in response.

After whipping him an additional 5 times, Jericho fought back with a rough kick to Punk's gut, followed by a few Irish whips of his own to the tattooed Superstar's chest in retaliation. Once Punk was backed into the opposite corner, he tried to fight back, but Chris targeted his bad arm again by giving it a kick, and then had a great idea in mind. First, he shoved Punk aside and proceeded to untie the padding over the turnbuckles. The referee saw this and demanded that Jericho get away, and he did as he was told. Then while the ref was busy fixing things back up, Chris dragged Punk by his injured arm towards his and Mickie's corner, where he then held Punk's outstretched arm and told Mickie to attack in any way that she pleased.

The Diva smiled at this and happily obliged by roughly kicking Punk's injured arm over and over again while he screamed in agony, along with the pain of Jericho stretching that same arm. He turned back to see that the ref was finished fixing up the turnbuckle, and Chris quickly dragged Punk back into the ring and away from Mickie so that he wouldn't get disqualified. The tattooed Superstar rolled around on the ground, holding his arm once again. When Jericho was about to capitalize once again, Punk suddenly pulled Jericho down and locked him into the Anaconda Vise. The fans rooted for Jericho to tap out, while Mickie was screaming for him to power out of it. The blonde yelled out, his hand threatening to tap, but somehow he managed to counter after elbowing Punk in the jaw a few times.

Both men were exhausted, but soon after, the two traded punches, with the fans alternating between cheers and boos. Finally, Punk seemed to be gaining momentum, and took Jericho down with a slingshot somersault senton. Instead of going for the cover, he decided to climb up to the top rope, preparing for his patented diving elbow drop, and the fans were firmly in his corner. Mickie knew that this might be the end for Jericho, so she knew that she acted fast. The Diva ran behind the announcer's table and grabbed her MITB briefcase, before running back to the ring and sliding it towards Jericho. He smiled at her and gave her a silent 'Thanks'. Punk raised his arms in the air and right at the last minute, saw Jericho holding the case. It was too late for Punk, though, because as he leapt off, the case connected to Punk's head, dazing him. Jericho quickly slid the case back to Mickie so that the ref wouldn't see, and finished Punk off with a Codebreaker. Finally, he went for the pin as the ref counted, "1…2…3!"

Boos from the fans flooded the arena as Lillian announced, "Here is your winner and STILL the WWE Champion, Chris Jericho!"

The blonde smiled and snatched his title from the ref, as Mickie applauded for her boyfriend and raised his arm in victory. Before they left the ring, Jericho approached a knocked out Punk and thrusted the title in his face, yelling, "BEST IN THE WORLD, CM DRUNK, BEST IN THE WORLD!"

Mickie grabbed him by the hand and led him out of the ring, sharing a passionate kiss with him as they headed up the ramp.

* * *

Backstage, the Guns had watched the match and were appalled at Mickie's behavior…

"Oh my God, poor Punk!" AJ exclaimed, placing a bag of ice onto Alex's sore back. "How the hell could Mickie just do all that to help Jericho win?"

"I have no idea, but it's official – she's changed into a completely different person." Alex replied, wincing in pain. "If she messes with Punk, then she messes with all of us, case closed."

"I told you guys that Mickie was trouble all along, but did any of you listen to me? NOOOO!" Velvet exclaimed with a satisfied smile. "You guys need to stop defending her from now on, especially you, Chris."

Sabin shook his head and replied, "Guys, listen to yourselves! You're blaming Mickie for this when the real problem is Jericho for doing all of this to her! She was a Gun, you guys, she was one of us. She was our friend."

"_Was_ is the key word, dude. She just sabotaged one of our best friends out there in order to please her boyfriend, and it was her decision to side with him in the first place, so this is all on her." Shelley replied.

"You're saying all this about someone who you considered a sister?" Sabin asked back, surprised.

"She made her decision, Sab, that's all I gotta say."

And right then and there, Mickie stopped in the doorway, to be met with glares from her former friends. (Excluding Sabin, of course.) "I know that you guys are talking about me, and frankly, I don't care anymore. See, I'm finally the star and out of your shadow _AJ_, and I admit, I haven't been this liberated in months." she announced, proudly clutching her briefcase.

"How could you even say something like that, Mickie?" AJ asked. "We were the best of friends, we did everything together! And now you think that I was-was _shadowing_ you?"

"Look, Mickie, you did all this on yourself, because we don't want to deal with you or your attitude anymore." Alex added. "The new Mickie can go right back to Jericho where she belongs, but we want the old Mickie back."

"The old Mickie who was a member of the Machine Guns." agreed AJ.

Velvet just smirked and crossed her arms, while Chris gave the Country Diva a sympathetic look.

"That's who everyone wants back, but the new Mickie is a happier Mickie." she replied. "Sorry you guys, but…things change."

And with that, she headed off to join Jericho, and to celebrate their victory together.


	75. Chapter 75

**Chapter 75**

The next morning, the gang was just getting off of a good night's sleep after the events of Summerslam the previous evening, and Alex had a surprise to announce to his girlfriend…

"April?" he whispered, gently shaking her awake. "April?"

But before he could wake her, an insanely loud and obnoxious sneeze from Velvet woke her up first.

"Ah-CHOO!"

Chris was startled awake, too. "Easy sqeezy lemon peezy…" he muttered.

"Huh?" the Diva muttered, waking up. "Wha happened?"

Alex shot Velvet a look for starting all this, but then smiled at AJ and replied, "April, I'm so glad that you're awake because I have some great news for ya."

"Really? Tell me, tell me, tell me!" she exclaimed.

"Well, brace yourself for the news that you've wanted to hear for months – you and I are on our way to Japan tomorrow!"

Her eyes widened as if she were a little girl on Christmas day. "Alex, are you serious?!" she exclaimed, overjoyed.

"Hell yeah!"

"How—How'd you find the time and the money to do all this?"

"Well, there's nothing planned after today at work and money was no object, so everything worked out!" the Detroit native replied, smiling.

She beamed. "AAH! We're going to _Japan_! Oh Alex, I love you, I love you, I LOVE you!" she cheered, wrapping her arms around his waist in a tight hug.

He chuckled. "Well, I love you times three, too!"

Chris smiled for the two, while Velvet sniffled and asked, "Hey, can Chris and I tag along, too?"

"_**NO!**_" Alex roared, sending a death glare her way while she was taken back, surprised. "No blonde nightmares are allowed."

She pouted and lied back down, blowing her nose while AJ excitedly replied, "Oh my God, I can't wait any longer, I'm packing right now!"

"Yeah, y'know, I better start, too." he agreed, hopping out of bed.

Once they were busy, Velvet muttered, "This is totally unfair, I want to go, too—Ah—CHOO!"

Chris was startled again by her sneeze and knew that he had to talk Alex into going with them—just him, and not Velvet.

Later…

Alex was busy packing everything he had, when Chris joined him. "Uh, hey, Shells, how's the packing going?" he asked nervously.

"Oh, hey, Sab. Listen, I need your opinion on something. Should I bring my sexy hair gel or my cool hair gel?" he asked, holding up a green container and a blue container.

"Uh…what's the difference?" he asked slowly.

"Duh, Chris! The sexy hair gel makes my sexy hair even sexier, while the cool hair gel makes my hair even cooler." he explained with a smile.

"Uh…just bring both to save you a world of pain and trouble." Chris shrugged, not really caring.

"Great idea!" he beamed. "So whatcha need from me, my brotha?"

"Well, I see that you and AJ are psyched for this Japan trip and I'm happy for you guys, but—"

"Oh, we are stoked, dude!" Alex interrupted. "We are going to have the best days of our lives, and I promise to tell you all about it when we get back."

"Wait, wait, hold on! Actually, I was kinda hoping that…I…couldcomewithyou." he muttered.

"Huh?" he asked, turning around.

"I wanted to come with you." Chris replied, not much louder.

"Chris, speak up, I can't hear you."

"I want to go to Japan with you guys!" he exclaimed.

The Detroit native raised an eyebrow. "Uh…no, you're not."

"Oh, come on, Alex, you gotta let me! Look, Velvet has been coughing and sniffling all day and whenever she catches a cold, she's pretty gnarly, dude."

"Well, she's always gnarly, but she's your girlfriend and your problem."

"Shelley, I am begging you, PLEASE let me go with you guys, please!" Chris begged.

"Sab, come on, you know that this is supposed to be a romantic getaway for April and I and we've been looking forward to this trip for months!" he exclaimed, going on to pack some more of his things.

"Well, you guys still can! I promise that I won't bother either of you, and you can still have the romantic getaway that you wanted to have."

"Jeez, Sab, you're really serious about this."

"I am! Velvet's colds are the worst, and I don't want to stay here and catch her illness while my two best friends are living it up all the way on the other side of the world." Chris replied.

Alex chuckled. "You know, I wouldn't want to stay here with a sick Hyena, either."

"Don't call her that."

"Anyway, listen, dude. I'll…I'll let you go with us—"

"WOOHOO!" he cheered.

"BUT, only because you're my best friend and you can only go on one condition."

"Sure thing, name it!"

"You can go with us, as long as you do whatever I tell you to do. Got it?" asked Shelley.

He had on a big smile. "I love you, man."

Alex held out his hand, but Chris wrapped him in a tight, yet grateful hug.

"All right, stop hugging me and go and tell your girlfriend that you're abandoning her late tonight, cause we're leaving right after Raw's over."

"Okay!" he exclaimed, rushing out of the room to tell Velvet the news. Right after he left, AJ came in, startled.

"Uh, hey, Alex, what's up with Chris? He's acting like he won the lottery."

"Well, uh…he has a good reason to be excited, baby." he said apprehensively.

"Really? Why?"

Her answer came from the other room when Velvet screamed, _"You're going to Japan with Alex and AJ while you're leaving me here all alone?!"_

Shocked, AJ looked towards the door and then shot a look back at her boyfriend. He chuckled sheepishly.

"Chris is going with us?" she questioned.

He nodded.

"WITH us?" she repeated. "As in, you, me, and him?"

He nodded again.

"Alex, look, you know that I love Chris dearly and like a brother, but _why are you bringing him along with us?_" she asked through clenched teeth.

"April, he begged me to, and I felt bad for him! He doesn't deserve to hang around here and catch Velvet's illness and eventually end up giving US her illness, too!" he explained while she crossed her arms.

"This was supposed to be a romantic vacation, Shells."

"And it will be, I promise! I told Chris that he could go as long as he stayed out of our business and if he promised to do whatever I told him to do. Baby, this will be our special getaway, and we are going to have the time of our lives. Please believe me." he said, looking into her eyes as she melted in his chocolate brown ones.

She smiled. "Of course I believe you. I love you so much for doing all this."

"And I love you so much for understanding." he replied, wrapping her in a tight hug, before they leaned in to share a passionate kiss.

"GUYS!" Chris exclaimed, barging in and wrapping an arm around each of their shoulders. "Aren't the next few days going to be great? Just the three of us, roaming around doing who knows what all the way on the other side of the world? Ooh, I gotta start packing my things! Where are those alligator slippers of mine?"

Once he frolicked off into the room, AJ sighed while Alex assured, "Hey, things are going to go great, trust me!"


	76. Chapter 76

**Chapter 76**

So the next day, after a long and tiring plane ride, Alex, AJ, and Chris were suffering from jet lag, but finally landed in Tokyo, Japan somewhat in the morning. At least, that's what they thought. The time zone difference confused all three of them. As if the flight weren't tiring enough, the three were stuck in the back seat of a small, cramped taxi with a confused taxi driver who had no idea where their suite was.

"So, do you guys even know where our hotel is?" asked Chris.

"It's called the Park Hyatt Tokyo, and it is supposed to be a 5 star palace. Check this out: 24 hour concierge, 24 hour room service, a 37 inch plasma TV, in-room gift shopping, a CD library, complimentary high-speed internet access…" Alex began, reading the brochure.

"Oh, my God, I can't wait anymore, we have to get there as soon as possible!" AJ exclaimed.

"So where's the hotel?" Chris repeated.

"I don't know, dude."

"Well, you should! You know more Japanese than either of us, so ask the taxi driver!" he exclaimed.

"Chris—" began Alex.

"Come on, ask him!"

He rolled his eyes a bit and then tapped the driver over the shoulder, asking, "Uh, _kokode desu ha paakuhaiatto toukixyouhoteru? _(Where is the Park Hyatt Tokyo hotel?)"

The driver replied something in Japanese before pointing up ahead.

"See, guys, we'll be there in a few minutes." Alex announced, smiling.

"Ooh, you sound so hot when you speak in a foreign language!" AJ smiled, giving him a kiss.

"Guys, come on, can you save the making out until after we get out of this taxi? It's stuffy enough as it is, we don't need you fogging up the windows!" Chris exclaimed.

"Oh, shut up Sabin, you have absolutely no right to tell us what we can and can not do. I got you on this trip, and I can take you on the first flight home back to Velvet and her illness. You want that?"

"No, but—"

"Uh, guys?" AJ asked, looking out the window.

"You need to stop complaining, because if I hear another word out of you—" Alex continued.

"Guys!" AJ cried.

"Who said that I was complaining? I was simply making a request to—" began Chris.

"GUYS?!"

"What?!" they exclaimed.

"I think we passed by our hotel."

They froze and then looked out of the window.

"Oh, damn. April, tell the driver to stop the cab." replied Shelley.

"Why me?"

"Baby, you need to practice your Japanese anyway, and this is the best place to start. Tell him to stop the cab."

"O-Ok, I'll try. Um…_takushii wotomeru_, uh, por favor?—I-I mean, _shite kudasai_?" she asked nervously.

The driver just glanced back at them and continued driving.

"See, my Japanese isn't that good! Chris, you tell him!" AJ exclaimed.

"Hey, my Japanese is only as good as yours, sis." replied Sabin. "Come on, Alex, stop him from taking us into the outskirts of town!"

Soon, the driver slowed down the taxi and asked, "_Konohoteru desuka?_"

"Uh, no, I already took a piss during the long flight over here." Alex answered incorrectly.

The driver shook his head. "_Iie. Anata nohoteru sorehakokodesuka?"_

As Chris and AJ exchanged confused looks, Alex slowly replied, "Uh…huh?"

"Is that your hotel?" the Driver asked, his accent coating over his English.

"What did he say?" asked Alex.

Finally, the driver grew both annoyed and frustrated, so he stopped the taxi to a screeching halt, causing Chris to bump his forehead over the window. "OW!"

"Hey, hey, what are you doing?" Alex questioned.

"Out! You, three, out!" he cried, storming out of the car and opening their door to get them out.

"Wait, what did we do? All we wanted to know was where the hotel was!" Shelley cried.

The driver yanked Chris out by the arm before opening the trunk to get their bags. He carelessly tossed them out onto the sidewalk.

"Hey, we're sorry if we were rude or anything! It's a free country, we get it!" AJ exclaimed.

The driver gave them a look and asked rhetorically, "It's _your_ country, _hanai desu ha migidesuka?_"

"Uh…what?" Chris called back before his bag was nearly thrown into his face, catching it.

"Have a nice day!" the driver exclaimed, speeding down the road, leaving the three stranded on the sidewalk.

"…Good job handling that, Alex." AJ said flatly.

"Anytime, baby." Alex replied, just as flatly.

* * *

Later that day, they managed to walk about 5 blocks to their hotel, and seeing the amazing place where they were going to stay for the next few days, all of the hassle and jet lag was completely worth it.

The three Guns looked in awe as the bellboy led them through the nicely dim lit hall, and once he opened their door, they gasped upon seeing their suite.

"Oh dude…!" Alex uttered as they walked into a spacious and luxurious room which included a work area, high speed internet, a walk in closet, a personal entertainment center, a deep soaking tub and two comfy looking double beds.

"Ohh, soft fluffy bed, COME TO PAPA!" Chris cheered, running and flopping stomach first onto the second one, not planning on moving anytime soon. "Guys, I'm not leaving until the jet lag wears off." he announced, mumbling.

AJ laughed and went to explore the room, while Alex had an idea and had a word with the bellboy. "Hey, listen. I promised my friend that he could come with us on this trip if he would do anything I told him to do, and what I want _you_ to do, is to take the night off. For us, at least."

"What do you mean?"

"I want Chris to do all the cooking and cleaning for us instead of you. That way, my girl and I will get the alone time that we so rightfully deserve. K?" he asked.

The bellboy shrugged and held his hand out for a tip. Alex slapped his hand instead and practically slammed the door in his face. Afterwards, he looked over the room and a smile grew across his face, before he wrapped his arms around AJ's waist, who was looking out at the mid-morning view and the clear blue skies. "Well, babe, we made it."

She smiled and turned to kiss him. "I can't believe you and I are finally here together. It's like a dream come true."

"It sure is. We don't have to worry about meddling parents, horrible co-workers, any of that. It's all about you and me." he replied.

"Hmm. I love you and me." the Diva grinned, leaning up to wrap her boyfriend in a passionate kiss. Their hands laced together and they remained in their liplock as they made their way to the other bed. With him lying on top of her, things were about to get more passionate, but they suddenly remembered that they weren't the only ones in the room. They slowly turned to look at Chris on the other bed, who was still lying in the same fixed position. He turned to look back at them. "Oh hey, what's up?"

Alex shot him a glance.

"Oh…I get it. You two want to get it on, huh? Well, don't worry about me, I'll just turn the other way. Unless you want to have a threesome." he smirked.

AJ gasped and threw a pillow at him. "Chris!"

"Chris, she is your sister! And you want to have a threesome with her? You know that's kind of considered incest, right?"

His eyes widened. "Oh, crap, you're right. Sorry, blame it on the jet lag." he replied, sitting up. "So, what do you guys want to do now? We have the whole day ahead of us."

"Well, I don't know about you, but April and I were planning on doing some serious shopping first."

"AAH!" AJ exclaimed, jumping up and down. "Converses, clothes, and plushies, here I come!"

"Well, what about me?" asked Sabin. "Come on, I want souvenirs, too! And we gotta buy things for our friends back at home, like Punk, Britani, Kaitlyn, Velvet…Mickie…" he said his ex's name rather quietly. "So yeah."

Alex sighed. "Fine. Ok, fine, Sab, you can go shopping with us, but as soon as we're finished, April and I are heading out to explore while you're staying here cooking and cleaning for us."

"Okay!...Wait, what?!" Chris demanded, following them out of the room.


	77. Chapter 77

**Chapter 77**

So for the next few hours, the three had their fun shopping among the hottest stores in Tokyo. Alex had kept his promise and spent hundreds of money on Anime plushies, Pokemon plushies, Hello Kitty plushies, all for AJ, and almost bought out the entire store. Along with that, she managed to score some cool platform Converse sneakers in every color, and snagged all of the coolest fashions there. With the cash that Alex hadn't spent on his girlfriend, he treated himself to some cool new clothes, accessories, and CDs, while Chris also treated himself to some new fashions, some CDs, and especially some Japanese candy that he always wanted to try. Plus, he was the only one obligated to buy at least one gift for their friends back at home. He asked for Alex to help him pay, but he ultimately refused.

After a day of shopping, Alex demanded that Chris go back to their hotel and do his chores (he tried to get out of it, to no avail), while he and April headed out to the nearest restaurant for a romantic evening…

"My my, dear Shelleykins, I never knew you had such formal tastes." AJ replied as the two were sitting at their table by a nice window that looked out at the city. "This place is so beautiful."

"You're more beautiful." he smiled, giving her a kiss. "And you know that I'm not a formal guy, I just asked the operator for the nearest restaurant at a cheap price and here we are."

"Cheap price?" she asked, surprised.

"Babe, I spent over $3,000 bucks here, and that's only in Japanese dollars. You couldn't imagine how much it'd cost in U.S. currency!"

"Actually, U.S. money is worth a lot less than it does here."

He pouted. "Stop trying to make me feel bad and kiss me."

She giggled. "Ok, ok!"

After they shared a few slow kisses, he asked, "So, how you liking the trip so far?"

"Oh Alex, it has been like a dream. I'm all the way on the other side of the world in an amazing city with my sexy boyfriend, and away from everyone back home who I can't stand, so I am the happiest little geek in the world." AJ replied.

"Which in turn, makes me the happiest geeky stud in the world." he replied, before a waiter arrived and handed them their menus.

"_Kokodeha menixyuudesu."_ he told them.

AJ looked through her menu and glanced at the waiter before whispering to Alex, "Uh, babe? This menu's all in Japanese."

The waiter rolled his eyes.

Alex flashed her a quick smile before looking through the menu and telling the waiter, "Uh, _watashiha you na…__Mehari-zushi"_

The waiter gave him and nod and then turned to AJ. "_To ka?_"

Her eyes widened and she nervously flipped through her menu. "Um, oh God…I don't want spinach." she announced.

Alex smiled and stifled a laugh.

"It's not funny." AJ muttered, playfully punching him on the arm. Then, she looked at the waiter, who was still waiting for a response from her. She turned back to her menu. "K, hold on…I want this." she replied, pointing to a specific item.

"_Shixefu odoroki. Sugokuii desu!_" the waiter exclaimed, jotting something down.

"What's that?" asked Alex.

"Chef's Surprise! It was the only thing in English, so yeah."

"Hey, I like surprises!" Alex agreed before telling the waiter, "_Sono shimasu." _("Make that two.")

He nodded. _"Gochuumonni modoruwosugni sare masu."_ he said before heading off.

"Whew!" AJ sighed in relief.

"See, baby, that wasn't so hard, now was it?" asked Shelley.

"Uh, yes it was. Thankfully, I brought my Japanese dictionary." she replied, holding up a little book.

"You brung that? You wimp." he smirked.

"Shut up!" the Diva laughed.

* * *

Back at the hotel, Chris was washing some dishes and vacuuming the carpet at the same time, wearing rubber gloves, a frilly apron, and a hairnet. "I can't believe he's making me do all this crap while they get to live it up all around town." he mumbled and grumbled, shutting the water off and clumsily adjusting the vacuum. "These hands were meant for manly jobs, not this! How the hell do you even use this thing?"

Before he could potentially ruin the room, he heard his cell ring. "Oh. Hey, Vel, how you holding up?"

"_Ah, AH, CHOOO!"_

"Still pretty bad, huh?"

"_YES! Chris, why'd you have to leave me here?! I am DYING!"_

"Oh, come on Vel, you are not dying."

"_Yes, I am! I can't breathe, my nose is dripping like a fountain, my eyes are all puffy, and I have a splitting headache! And instead of being here and taking care of your ailing girlfriend, you're out there over 5,000 miles away living it up with Alex and AJ!"_

He sighed. "Velvet, I am not having a better time than you are, trust me. Alex forced me to stay at our hotel and clean the place like I'm his personal chore bitch or something. It blows! I want to go out there and have some fun, too!" he complained.

"_My problems are worse than yours, Chris, don't complain!" _the blonde screamed back.

"I have every right to complain, at least you get to lie in bed all day, I'm still suffering from jet lag and I don't even know what time it is over here! Everything's all screwed up!" he exclaimed.

"_Oh, what are you talking about, Chris, you've been to Japan with Alex lots of times before." _replied Velvet.

"Yeah, but he was the one who actually paid attention to things! I was just in it for the Japanese candy!" he argued.

"_Ah, CHOO! *sniffle* Look, did you at least buy me a present over there to make me feel less crappy?" _

"Of course I did, and I'm sure that you'll love it. Uh, gotta go now, the vacuum just automatically turned itself on and I don't know what the hell I'm doing. Love you, bye!" he cried, quickly hanging up and chasing after the vacuum. "Wait, come back!"

* * *

Back at the restaurant...

"Ok, I swear, dinner better be worth the wait because I'm staaaarving!" AJ exclaimed.

"Well, let's do something and then everything'll be here in no time. Thumb wrestle?" asked Alex.

Amused that this was the best that he could come up with, she laughed and nodded. "Ok."

Their fingers laced together as their thumbs swerved around one another. They both chanted, "One, two, three, four, I declare thumb war!"

"YAY!" AJ exclaimed, pinning Alex's thumb down.

"Oh come on, you even beat me in thumb wrestling?!" he cried, shocked.

"No, you let me beat you!" she laughed. "Take defeat like a man!"

"Y'know, I oughta go Squirtle on you and splash this glass of water at ya. And I think I will." he smiled, about to do just that, while she squealed and covered her head.

"Alex, don't! This is a formal restaurant, people are gonna notice!"

"Good! I want them to notice my awesome woman and I'm damn proud of her!" he exclaimed rather loudly. She couldn't help but to blush.

"Alex…"

"It's true, April. I swear, you are the coolest girl I've ever been with." he said seriously, while she took his hands. "All those other girls I've been with in the past, they came and gone, some of them were just one night stands, but none of them have stuck with me like you have. In fact, I'll never forget the time when I was plastered at the bar and nearly walked into the street, and you were there to pull me out of the way and literally save my life. I can't thank you enough for that, babe."

She nodded and smiled. "There's no need to thank me for looking out for you, Shells. You're the love of my life and I don't want anything to hurt you."

He smiled back. "I love you."

"I love you, too." she replied, kissing him again. "And I'd also love for our dinner to get here!"

"Yeah, I give em five more seconds and then we riot." he agreed, before the waiter finally arrived, placing two plates in front of them. Their faces fell once they saw this white, gooey brain looking substance, along with a light pink colored drink. AJ shook her head and clicked her tongue, gesturing for the waiter to come back.

"Wait, hold on. I ordered the Chef's Surprise."

He grinned back. "_Hai. Shixefu odoroki." _he clarified, bowing. _"O tanoshimikudasai."_

A more than confused AJ just stared at what was in front of her.

Alex wasn't too pleased, either.

"Alex, is it too late to get a refund?" she asked.

"Ok. I know It looks strange, but I'm sure it's edible." he tried to be optimistic. "Let's try at the same time, just to be fair."

"Ok."

After that, they both dug in and tried a bite of the gooey white substance, and their chewing slowed down.

"Well…it's…exotic." Shelley concluded.

"Why's it so mushy?" she asked.

Right after that, Alex looked at the mini menu that was still on their table and looked up the Chef's surprise. Once he saw what it was, his eyes widened and he quickly spat out the substance into a napkin. He looked down.

"…It's fish sperm." he mumbled quickly.

"Peh." the Diva quickly spat it back out.

They both took a swig of their drinks, but slowed down once they realized…

"WHY is this not liquefied?" AJ demanded.

Alex took another look at the menu and read, "Jelly drink…contains pig placenta."

"Check, please." AJ raised her hand, while Alex just had to laugh at her reaction. "It's still not funny."

She took a swig of her water and gargled.

"I can't believe we just ate pig parts and a fish's love essence." he chuckled. "I can't wait to tell Sabin about this."


	78. Chapter 78

**Chapter 78**

Later after returning back to the hotel from their horrible dinner, AJ and Alex found out that there was an indoor pool a few floors down. Once they arrived, they were psyched to find that there was nobody else there. Now, the two were in the water, playfully splashing towards one another.

"Aah, Shells, stop, you're getting water in my eyes!" she squealed, splashing water at his hair.

"Hey, you KNOW not to target my hair!" he exclaimed, laughing. "You are so gonna get it now."

"Oh, and what are you gonna do? What are you gonna do?" she challenged her boyfriend.

"What am I gonna do? I'm using my super powers of Super Sexiness to take you down!" he exclaimed, playfully tackling her further into the water.

"Ooh, those super sexy powers of yours are too strong for the defenseless little geek. You win." she smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck.

He smirked and wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her closer to him. "Glad that I've won you." he said in a low voice, locking lips with her once again.

"Mm, I love that we have this huge pool all to ourselves." she replied, running her fingers through his soaked hair.

"So do I." he agreed, kissing the side of her neck as she moaned a little. "Hey, I just got an idea."

"Oh, God." she chuckled.

"No, this is a fun one! Let's go skinny dipping!" he lit up.

"Really?"

"Sure! Why not? We're the only ones down here, nobody'll catch us." Alex replied, before sliding off his trunks to prove a point. He twirled them around before tossing them aside. "See? Your turn."

Smiling mischievously, she replied, "You're so naughty, Alex."

She felt him tugging off her bottoms from underwater with lust in his eyes. "Be naughty with me." he said seductively.

As a reply, she gave him a wicked smile once her arms reached behind and untied her top, dropping it down into the water before immediately wrapping him into another slow kiss. The passion began to build up between the two, once her legs instinctively wrapped around his waist. The Detroit native smirked at this and asked, "Have you ever made love in a deserted pool?"

"Have you ever wanted to try it?" she asked back.

"Gladly." he agreed, before entering her right away. Her head immediately tossed back as the Diva moaned out, "Ohh God, Alex…"

After a few minutes of hot and heavy love making, the two reached their climaxes at once, crying out each other's names in surrender. Once they came back down to earth, his forehead rested against hers, and smiles formed on both of their faces. "…Wow." was all AJ could utter.

"I think that was more than 'wow'. We oughta do this again sometime." Alex replied.

"Totally." she agreed, giving him a kiss. "Now, we better head back upstairs and get dressed up."

"Dressed up for what?"

"I know that there's supposed to be a really popular club around town and I thought it'd be sweet to check it out."

"Sounds like a plan to me. Let's get going!" he agreed.

* * *

Moments later, the two arrived back to their hotel room, where they saw Chris on the floor, scrubbing something away.

"Oh, nice to finally have company again. Listen, just watch the floors, I spent a half hour scrubbing em." Sabin replied.

Alex paid no mind as he stepped right onto his clean floor, leaving a scuff mark.

"Shelley, you douche!" he snapped. "Did you not just hear me?"

He nonchalantly looked down at the floor and blankly replied, "Oh. Sorry. Hey, fix us a snack, will ya? We just had sex in a pool and we're starving."

He growled for a moment and then angrily tossed aside his Swiffer mop. "Ok, that's it! I'm finished with being your chore bitch and cleaning up after you! I'm not your mother, I'm your best friend!" he began.

AJ felt sorry for him while Alex sighed and rolled his eyes. "Here it comes…" he muttered.

"I'm a person, and I have FEELINGS, and I deserve to be treated with dignity and respect!" he continued, kicking the Swiffer aside and ripping off his apron and hair net. "I barely got to have any fun on this trip, and I ask—no, I DEMAND to join you two on your next stop because I want to have fun again, damn it!"

Alex approached him and slapped him across the face.

"OW!"

"You finished?" he asked. "Wussy."

"Ok, that may have been over the top, but seriously, can I go with you guys if you're headed anywhere else tonight?" he asked.

"Well…we were planning on heading out to a club, so—" AJ didn't get a chance to finish once Chris rushed to change into one of his new outfits.

"…All righty then." she concluded.

"I just know this is going to be a mess just waiting to happen." Alex sighed, heading off to change.

* * *

A few minutes later, the three were all set and ready to go. Chris wore a black form fitting short sleeved shirt which accentuated his toned muscles, along with some faded jeans, sneakers, and a gray skull cap to match. Alex had on a black and red tank top which also showed off his muscles, along with dark jeans and some converses, and AJ had worn a off the shoulder short sleeved graphic tee, with some black jean shorts and knee length converses. After a couple of blocks of walking, they arrived to this place called the Casablanca Bar & Night Club, where they already heard loud dance music blasting from inside.

"Aw yeah, sounds like the party's just starting!" Chris exclaimed. "C'mon, guys, let's show em what the Guns are made of!"

"Yeah, this is gonna be fun!" AJ agreed, taking Alex's hand and leading him inside.

"Sabin, you just control yourself in here, I don't want to have to carry you out over my shoulder again!" Alex called.

Once they showed the guard their ID's, they explored the crowded place. There were people chilling at the bar, others were on the dance floor, and others were just standing around and socializing while the DJ was in this upstairs booth, playing a mix of dance, hip hop, pop, and reggaeton hits.

"Wow, this place is sicker than most of the nightclubs back home." Alex said, impressed.

"I love the ambience…" agreed AJ. "Hey Chris, since Velvet's not here, what are you gonna do if a bunch of pretty girls start hitting on you?"

"Well, I wouldn't blame em for wanting a piece of the Chrismeister." he smirked. "But I'd have to let em down easy and tell em that I have a beautiful sick—"

"Hyena." cut in Alex.

Chris glared at him. "—Girlfriend waiting for me at home. So I'm taken. I'd hate to disappoint em."

At that moment, it was slow jam time and an old school classic, Janet Jackson's 'Rope Burn' began to play.

"Ooh, new song, and it is time for me to socialize. Later, lovebirds." Sabin smiled, heading off into the crowd.

"Have fun, bro!" AJ called.

"Yeah, and don't drink too much if you can't hold your hootch!" Alex called. "Who wants to bet that he'll be passed out and/or arrested sometime tonight?"

She laughed. "Shells, just let Chris have his fun. He deserves it after being trapped in the hotel for most of the night."

"Fine, fine." he replied, wrapping an arm around her waist and giving her a kiss. "So, since I don't dance, do you wanna…put on a little show for me?"

She bit her lower lip and playfully shoved him down onto the bar stool, before swaying her body to the beat of the song and lip-synching as well.

"_Tie me up, tie me down  
Make me moan real loud  
Take off my clothes  
No one has to know  
Whisperin I wanna feel a soft rope burn (no one has to know)  
Wanna feel a…  
Rope burn_

The Diva turned around so that her back was facing Alex, and looked over her shoulder before she sensually bent down and then swayed back up, while he smirked and eyed every part of his girlfriend. She turned back around and wrapped her arms around his neck, mouthing the words,

"_When you walked into the room you knew just what to do  
Ya coulda gone from door to door but you knew just where to go to  
Come into my velvet room and tell me your fantasies  
(tell me your fantasies)_

The smile never left Shelley's face once AJ straddled over him and decided to turn him on by moving her hands to his lower waist, grinding over him, and another wicked smile grew across her face once she was certain that she felt the bulge in his jeans get bigger. Leaning closer to him, she finished,

"_The passion in your voice I wanna hear as you start to tell me  
While you take the blindfold and tie it gently on me  
Don't wanna see but feel the things you're gonna do to me…"_

"Oh, babe, if you keep that going, we're going to have to find a closet or some place where I can have you alone." Alex replied, kissing the side of her neck.

"I don't think there's any place we can go to be alone, way too many people around here." she giggled. "Besides, all of that 'trying to turn you on' stuff's made me hungry. Where are the munchies?"

"Uh…over there on the other side."

"Cool. I'm gonna get some, you want any?" she asked.

"No thanks, April, I'm going to actually go and check on Chris. Gotta make sure he hasn't been dragged to a back alley or something." Alex replied with a chuckle before they kissed and headed their separate ways. "I love you."

"I love you, too." the Diva called back, headed to a table filled with sweets and pastries. "Yes…" she uttered before taking one after another. Little did she know, though, a woman was there with a camera, taking pictures of her and capturing every different little pose that she had made.

Meanwhile, Alex was still searching the crowded place for his best friend, having no clue where the hell he was. "CHRIS?! CHRIS!"

Before he could get any further, two girls approached him and took each of his arms.

"Hey, sexy, we haven't seen you here before." a blonde replied.

"Mmhmm, such a shame that we haven't seen a hottie with a bod like yours before." a brunette agreed, batting her eyelashes. "What's your name?"

He rolled his eyes and sighed. "Slim Shady. Now could you please excuse me so that I can find my friend?"

"Wait, stay and chat with us! The three of us could have such a good time upstairs where we can be alone." the blonde told him.

"Look, stop trying to hook up with me. My girlfriend's standing right over there, and she's a professional wrestler, so if she needs to kick your asses, she won't hesitate to. Am I clear?" he demanded.

The girls pouted and headed off, right when a new song came on. "CHRIS!" he called.

_Billie Jean Is Not My Lover  
She's Just A Girl Who Claims That I Am The One  
But The Kid Is Not My Son  
She Says I Am The One, But The Kid Is Not My Son_

Alex kept searching for his friend, but once he saw a crowd of people who appeared to be circling around someone, he raised an eyebrow. "What the...?"

"GO POOKIE! GO POOKIE! GO POOKIE! GO POOKIE!" the crowd chanted. Alex was more confused than ever and pushed himself through the crowd to find Chris busting a move to the beat of the song. The crowd continued cheering for him, but Shelley was just plain embarrassed and had to get him out of there. He pulled him up by the arm and dragged him out of the circle.

"POOKIE!" a few fangirls squealed, snatching Chris's skull cap.

"Thank you, ladies, THANK YOU!" he slurred.

Alex pulled him aside and gave him a baffled look.

"What?...WHAT?! What'd I do?!"

"…_Pookie?!_" Shelley cried.

"Yup, that's my new nickname. See *hic* Shells, I gotta—I gotta fan base here, and I can't leave em behind. MY PEOPLE!" he called to them, who raised their glasses and cheered back.

"How much did you have to drink tonight, dillhole?"

"I dunno…like, lots." replied Sabin, nearly stumbling over.

"See, this is why I can never take you anywhere. We better grab April and head back to the hotel." he replied, wrapping one arm over Chris's shoulder to keep him steady. "April, baby, we gotta get home."

She munched another cupcake. "Aww, why?...Oh, is Chris drunk again?" she concluded.

"Yep."

"It's POOKIE, baby!" he yelled/cheered for himself.

"Oh wow, he needs to sober up and quick. Let me take some of these for the road." the Diva said, taking a handful of sweets. "K, let's go."

The three of them headed outside in the night air, but a voice called, "Excuse me?"

They turned around to find the woman who took pictures of AJ.

"Can I ask you a question?" she asked the Diva.

She looked around, confused for a moment. "Me? Sure, what's up?"

"Have you ever considered being a model?"

"Uh…well, I've taken a few photoshoots before for my job, but I'm more of a tomboy than a model."

"Well, you should definitely consider the modeling profession." the woman replied, handing her a business card. "My boss, he is very interested in women like you."

Once she headed off, she blankly stared at the card and didn't really have a reply.

"Well, then. April, you're really not buying this crap, are ya?" asked Alex.

"I dunno. It could be fun." she said thoughtfully.

"Those models are bad news, sis…" Chris slurred. "Anorexia and stuff…"

"Chris is right, babe, maybe you shouldn't be getting into that kind of stuff." Shelley replied.

"I'd never resort to becoming anorexic or bulimic or anything! Guys, I think I'm going to try it tomorrow. And if I don't like it, I won't continue on with it. No harm, no foul, right?" she smiled.

Sabin nearly stumbled into a parked car, while Shelley raised an eyebrow, still totally unsure about his girlfriend transitioning from the gamer that he loved to a…model.


	79. Chapter 79

**Chapter 79**

AJ had been thinking about the modeling offer all night and through the next morning, and she decided that she definitely wanted to give it a try. It couldn't hurt, at least. Alex was still totally unsure that she should've been doing this, but let it go for now. That mid-morning, he and Chris were in the hotel's recreation area, playing a game of pool.

"Ha! I beat ya again, dude." Chris smiled. "That's 5 games to one! Guess that proves that I'm the better billiards player, huh?"

"Ehh, stop rubbing it in, Sabin. Aren't you supposed to be in bed recovering from your hangover?" Alex asked bitterly.

Chris chuckled and twirled around his cue stick. "My, my, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. Care to tell me what's going on?"

"I dunno, it's just…I don't feel right about April doing this whole modeling thing. That's all." he explained. "That's just not who she is."

"Dude, it's not that big of a deal. What she's doing today is just a few tryout shoots, nothing major. I bet she'll never want to model again after today." replied Sabin.

"Yeah, that's true. She could've at least brung us with her, though. She's never been to Japan before, so what if she gets lost?" he asked.

"Alex!" Chris exclaimed, surprised. "It's sweet of you to worry about her, but she's 25 years old. Let her do her own thing, she's a big girl now."

"Yeah, but after what she went through with her family and with her moving out of her old house, I just feel like we've got a huge responsibility with her. She's my girlfriend and your little sister, and with this cold, cruel world, we have to keep her safe from anyone out there." he explained, grabbing a drink for himself and handing one to his friend.

Chris nodded and placed a supportive hand over his shoulder. "Our jobs are to keep her safe and to keep her happy. If this modeling thing makes her happy, then we just have to support her decision."

"But I still hope that she turns the offer down." Alex replied. Yeah, it was a little selfish of him, but he knew inside that she'd make the right choice.

* * *

Meanwhile in town, AJ was in the modeling company's studio, in the middle of a photo shoot in progress…

The lead photographer, whose name was Hiroki Takemoto, was intrigued by the candid photos of AJ that the female assistant had taken of her last night outside of the club, and was now busy taking tons of pictures of the Diva for her sample portfolio.

First, she had dressed up in a purple sequined gown with a white feather boa draped across her neck. She looked exactly like a movie star as the photographer called, "Beautiful, darling! You've got the look!"

Next, she posed in a pink maid's dress, looking cute while she smiled and held a duster and struck about 5 poses.

"Adorable, April, just stunning!" he called.

Then, the Diva was posed over a motorcycle, with the fan blowing giving a dramatic effect to her hair. With this theme, she wore quite a revealing black leather outfit, with fishnets and knee high boots to top it off.

In addition, she posed as a cowgirl, as a rock star, and as a cheerleader. Once the shoot was over, AJ had the biggest smile on her face once she was changed back into her regular outfit.

"Ok guys, that's a wrap!" Hiroki called. "I need a word with our model here. April, you looked absolutely stunning up there, I think you will thoroughly enjoy how your pictures have turned out."

"Thank you, sir. I-I never realized how much fun it was being in front of the cameras! Well, I-I mean, I'm in front of cameras all the time when I'm wrestling, AND when I do photoshoots for my job, but this…this felt different." she rambled on, twiddling her fingers.

"Well, for someone with little modeling experience, you've done beautifully up there. If you don't mind, April, I'd like to offer you a contract."

"Contract?" she asked, her eyes widening.

"Yes, you see, models like you are in full demand these days, and they get paid. Big time. You like money, don't you?" he asked.

"Well, of course, I mean, who doesn't?" she nodded.

"Exactly! Take a look at these prints of your first ever photo shoot, and if you really love what you just did up there, imagine doing it for a living. Imagine doing it to get a large chunk of cash. Imagine your image all over billboards, you will be a global icon!" he exclaimed while her jaw dropped in shock.

"Gosh…but I already have a great paying job, and I'm pretty famous already."

"April, darling…once you take a look at these pictures, you will see that modeling is your true calling. Please, look over the contract, and think about what could happen if you sign it." Hiroki announced, before handing her her portfolio of pictures. "Take a look, they're finally ready."

The Diva looked over her photos and gasped. "Wow! That's—that's me! I can't believe it."

"Believe it, babe. Do you like how they turned out?"

"Like them, I LOVE them!" she exclaimed. "Oh my God, I can't wait to tell my boyfriend and my brother about this!"

Later…

"April, what are you thinking?" Alex demanded, distastefully looking through the pictures once she arrived back at the hotel. "This isn't you!"

"What are you talking about, Alex, of course it's me! Don't you like them?" she asked.

"Why are these pictures so…so revealing?" he asked.

"She still looks pretty hot, though, you can't deny that." Chris spoke up.

"Damn it, Sabin, she is your SISTER!" Alex exclaimed.

"Sorry! It's the hangover talking, all right?" he demanded back. "But still, AJ, some of these are a little…raunchy."

"They're supposed to be! Guys, you should've been there. Hiroki said that I belonged in front of the cameras, that modeling was my true calling. He said that he could make me famous, all over the world, and that I'd be living the life." she explained dreamily.

Alex raised an eyebrow. "Ok, ok, slow down. First of all, who the hell is Hiroki and why are you believing all of this garbage that he's feeding you?"

This time, it was AJ's turn to look surprised. "Excuse me? Ok, Hiroki's the one who took all of these photos, and none of what he told me is garbage!"

"Yes it is, April! You're not a model, you're a wrestler, and that's what **I** know you as! And you're already famous with us and you have a great paying job! You don't need any of this modeling crap!" he argued.

"How could you say such a thing, Alex? I really like doing this, and look, he even gave me a contract to sign."

"Contract?" both Guns asked, shocked.

"Yep!" she exclaimed, handing it to them.

Chris read through it first. "AJ, this deal is for two years." he cried, looking up at her.

"Oh no, then forget it. You're not doing this, April." confirmed Alex.

She whipped around and shot him a look. "You can't tell me what to do!"

"So you mean to tell me that you're willing to live here in Japan for two years, here in a city where you don't even know where the nearest bus stop is and where you hardly even know the language?" he demanded.

"I will get used to it, Alex." she said sternly.

"But what about your wrestling career, AJ? What about the Guns?" asked Chris. "We've already lost Mickie, we can't lose you, either."

"Chris, I am not leaving the Guns, and I never will. But this modeling thing is something that I've never really done before and I really like doing it! In fact, I'd love to do it again sometime." she replied, and right after she finished her sentence, there was a knock on the door. Once it was opened, the bellboy stood there, handing her a bouquet of flowers. "Oh, my God!" she exclaimed, before looking at the note. "Hiroki wants me to come in for another photo shoot! Ah!"

She quickly ran to hug and kiss both Guns on the cheek, before running out of the room. "Later!"

"…Ok, that was weird." concluded Chris.

"See, Sab, this is exactly what I'm talking about! She's been in front of a camera for a couple of hours and her mind's already been poisoned!" Alex cried.

"Well, how do you expect to change her mind so easily? She sounds like she has everything already planned out."

"She already has a great career and a great life, and it doesn't need to include her being a model. We have to stop her before she does something she can't get herself out of." he announced.


	80. Chapter 80

**Chapter 80**

After AJ had run out for her second photo shoot, Chris and Alex were surprised that she was out for nearly six hours. They headed out to search for her throughout the day, but couldn't find a sign of her. Alex insisted on calling the cops for a search party, but before he could, an excited AJ finally joined them back in their hotel room, wearing a totally different outfit than what she had on when she had left – a tight purple leather shirt and a tight leather mini skirt in black . "Hey, guys!" she greeted.

Alex turned to look at her and immediately stood up, an all too serious look on his face. Chris didn't look too pleased, either.

"Where the hell were you?" he demanded.

"I told you guys, I was invited back for another photo shoot! I have tons of new pictures to show you!"

"What kind of photo shoot lasts for over five hours, AJ?" Sabin asked, crossing his arms.

"Yeah, we were here looking all over town for you, and I was just about to call the police!" Alex exclaimed.

"Sheesh, guys, I was only with the modeling company, that's it." she replied, surprised. "Besides, they kept me there for so long because – check this out – they had me star in a music video for one of Japan's up and coming artists!"

"You WHAT?!" Alex and Chris cried, not believing what they were hearing.

"Yeah! I felt like a completely different person back there, and I even have a DVD of the video that we can all watch together!" she beamed, not giving either of them a chance to speak once she placed the DVD into the player.

Once the song began, AJ was the leading lady in the video, wearing nothing but a bra with a fishnet shirt on top, with a short skirt and tall boots to match. She pretty much looked unleashed throughout the video sending seductive looks towards the camera every now and then, and both Alex and Chris sat there in wide eyed shock. They never thought they'd see a side of her so…explicit before.

When the video was over, she grinned and turned to the boys. "So? What'd you think? Great or what?"

Chris chuckled nervously and replied, "Yeah, I think I-I need a cold drink or something. Be right back."

She turned to Alex, who slowly shook his head as he looked at her. "April, what the hell were you thinking when you did this?" he asked quietly.

Her smile faded. "What do you mean? They offered me a chance to be in a video, so I took it! What's the big deal?"

"What's the big deal? Do you hear yourself, April? The girl I just saw in the video sure as hell wasn't you, it was—I don't even know WHO the hell I just saw!"

"It was me, Alex, and I love how it turned out. As a matter of fact, Hiroki said that if the video gets a good reception from the record company, it'll get played live and worldwide. I will be highlighted as a star!" she smiled.

"Ok, listen to me." Alex replied, sitting her down. "And—what the hell are you wearing? Oh, let me guess: Hiroki gave you that outfit?"

"Sure did! I love it, don't you?"

He pretended to think and sarcastically replied, "I dunno, I really preferred the old AJ who chose Chuck Taylors over stilettos. Baby, don't you see what's happening to you? You let this Hiroki guy cram all of this modeling crap into your head and it's only been one day! One day. Don't you even see how much you've changed?"

"Alex, I haven't changed, and why are you accusing Hiroki of manipulating me? He's helping me." she argued.

"AJ, guys like him are sleazeballs." Chris replied, joining them.

"How could you say that, Chris, you don't even know him!"

"I don't need to! I looked up this guy on the internet and people like him only use young girls like you for doing their dirty work. You shouldn't trust this dude, because I really think that he's bad news." he explained.

She refused to hear it. "No! Both of you listen to me! At first, I wasn't so sure about this whole modeling thing, but after I've experienced it, I really love being the sole focus of the camera! I'm doing something that I've never really done before, and it feels great! This is my chance to become something big, you guys, and even if you don't support me, I'm still going to believe in myself."

"April, if this were under different circumstances, then maybe things would be different. But in this case, just look at these pictures and look at you in that music video!" cried Shelley. "You're frolicking around half naked, and people are just going to get the wrong image of you."

"Oh, what image? I feel beautiful!" she argued.

"How about the image of you looking like a cheap slut?" he asked, but immediately felt guilty once he saw the expression on his girlfriend's face. "Oh, my God. April, I didn't mean that, I swear."

"N-No. That's not what people will think of me…that's what _you_ think of me, right?"

"No, I don't." he replied, shaking his head.

"You just said it!" she snapped, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. "You know what?—" the Diva was cut off when her cell rang. "Hello?...Yeah?...Oh my God, of course, I'll be there right away, thank you so much!"

After she hung up, Alex asked, "Him again, huh?"

"Yes." she said bitterly. "Hiroki and the modeling company are holding a party for me for being his newest overnight sensation, and I plan on being there."

"No, April, you just came back here, you're not leaving this room again!" Alex argued, grabbing her arm.

She glared at him and yanked her arm away. "Look, it's my life and I prefer to live it by my rules. And I don't care what either of you say about my decision. I love what I do now and I won't have it end because you're both still treating me like a little girl!"

"AJ, come on, we're trying to talk you out of doing something stupid!" Chris exclaimed.

"Oh, so now I'm a cheap slut, AND I'm stupid? Don't try and find me this time, you guys, I'm not coming back until the morning." she said tearfully, slamming the door after her before Alex could even try to stop her again. Then, he turned to Chris. "Great. Great, now what?" he asked, exasperated. "My girlfriend just magically transformed into Tyra Banks!"

"Dude, this is bad. Seriously bad." he told him. "When I looked up this Hiroki dude on the internet, I read that he was once arrested for sexually assaulting one of his models. 25 years old, just like AJ."

"So this isn't the first time this monster has done something like this." Alex realized.

"Nope. He'd charm them into becoming a model for his company, presented that shiny new contract to their faces, and once they signed, it was all downhill from there." he explained.

Shelley noticed that the contract was still on the dresser, and rushed to look at it. "Oh thank God, she didn't sign it."

"Yeah, but that doesn't make her safe! Shelley, we gotta go back out there and find where this party is and save her before she gets hurt."

"That's exactly what we're gonna do. I'm not gonna let the sorry son of a bitch lay a finger on my girlfriend. Grab the contract and let's go." Alex announced, rushing off with Chris right behind him.


	81. Chapter 81

**Chapter 81**

Not long after she stormed out of the Guns' hotel room, AJ managed to find the building where her Photo Shoot/music video premiere party was being held. She had no idea exactly why the party was being held downstairs in a basement-like settling, but…ok. After meeting and shaking hands with some important executives and other models, the party was later winding down.

"You looked amazing, April!" one of the models exclaimed, before heading off with a few of her friends.

She giggled. "Thanks, you looked great, too!" she called. "Ah, what a great party."

"Hey, April, do you want me to take you back to your hotel?" Hiroki's assistant asked.

Before she could answer, Hiroki cut in and told her, "You, just go home, I'll take care of the girl."

"Hiroki, she should not be going out there on her own." she tried to reason.

"Go. Let me handle it." he said surely.

She sighed and headed off, leaving him alone with AJ.

The Diva politely twiddled her hands around while she admired the place, before he approached her. "You should be very proud of yourself, darling. See how much of a success this has been?"

"Yes, I never would've believed that I'd become an overnight success story!" she exclaimed.

"You need to have confidence in yourself, little lady. You need to have the same confidence that you display every time you participate in a photo shoot. Now that, is a bold, beautiful woman." he replied.

She smiled. "Thank you. I feel beautiful in front of the cameras, and I never thought that I'd ever say that about myself."

"What do you mean, April? You are amazing, and after today, you will be the new face of Japan, and those other models will be put to shame."

"But I'm not as pretty as the other models. I could never hold a candle to them." she said shyly.

He approached her again. "April. Beauty is just a state of mind. Confidence is what makes a true model stand out. And you…" he began, giving her a somewhat lustful look. "…definitely stand out."

Seeing the way that this guy was looking at her, she felt a little uncomfortable and took a few steps back. "Um, thank you."

"So, have you noticed that we're alone now? Nobody here to bother us. Disturb us." he replied, lightly touching her cheek when she backed away even more and gave him a look.

"Um, look, I appreciate what you've done and for giving me this party, but…you're getting a little close."

"Ah, there is nothing wrong, my dear April. You know how you Americans say, 'Business before pleasure?' Well, the business has been done already, so now…" he began, about to pull down her spaghetti strap.

This time, she really began to get scared and stepped away. "Hiroki, please stop! I'm beginning to feel really uncomfortable here!"

He smirked and kept following her while she continued to back away. "April, come on! Don't you want to have a little fun now that we're alone?"

"Look, I don't know what kind of fun you're talking about, but I want no part of this!" she exclaimed, running for the stairs. Before she could escape, he beat her to the punch and pinned her against the wall, only inches away from the brunette.

She trembled, terrified of what he might do to her, and if she tried to call for help, it would be no use since there was nobody around to hear her.

"Hiroki, please! You—You can't do this, I have a boyfriend! Y-You have a wife!" she cried.

He grinned wickedly. "And neither of them are here right now."

AJ gasped before he could do anything and quickly stumbled backwards up the stairs, with him smirking all the way and following her up. Moments later, Hiroki was shown slowly backing down the stairs, being steered away from AJ by Alex and Chris, who had fortunately found the place just in time. He continued to back away as the Guns continued stalking him down, with irate looks on their faces. AJ stood back, thankful that they'd come just in time.

"Hey, man." Alex said, shoving him back. "You think this is funny?"

"W-What?" Hiroki uttered, stunned.

"You heard me, you think this is FUNNY?!" he snapped, shoving him back with more force while Chris cracked his knuckles. "What the hell were you about to do to my girlfriend?!"

"I—I was just throwing her this party!" he tried to answer.

"Oh yeah? I don't see anybody else here." Chris replied, shaking his head. "You trying to put the moves on my sister, man? My SISTER?!" he shoved him back.

"We knew the whole time you were nothing but a scumbag, trying to manipulate April into joining your little whore house of a company, but you're not going to be manipulating anybody else after tonight, you little bitch!" Alex cried, slugging him in the stomach. "I oughta KILL your ass!"

"I-I'm sorry, man, I just got caught in the moment! She's so pretty, that I couldn't even resist!" Hiroki tried to argue, but was stopped once Chris decked him across the face.

"You listen to me, you stay the hell away from AJ, you understand? She's no longer doing business with you. Guys, book him!" he called.

"What? What are you talking about?" he questioned, before two cops arrived downstairs and handcuffed the sleazy photographer. Taking him upstairs and out of the building, he kept on yelling, trying to plead his innocence with a jumble of intelligible Japanese words and phrases.

The Guns turned to AJ. "Are you ok, baby?" asked Alex.

She nodded, a little shaken up. "Can you guys please take me home now?"

"Sure thing. C'mon." Chris replied as they led her away.

* * *

When they arrived back to their hotel, the three were pretty silent until AJ turned around and wrapped them both in a tight hug. They smiled and hugged her back.

"Oh, guys, thank God you came when you did. Who knows what the hell he was going to do to me." she sighed.

"It's all right, April, you're safe now and the bastard's in jail where he belongs." Alex replied, kissing the top of her head. "You sure you're ok?"

She nodded. "I'm fine. And guys, listen. I'm really sorry that I yelled at you earlier. I mean, you were only trying to talk me out of doing something stupid, and what do I do? Ignore you and do it anyway. I can't believe I let all of this modeling crap get to me so fast."

"Hey, hey, stop beating yourself up like that. We actually should apologize, too." replied Chris.

"Yeah, we never really supported your decision to begin with, and it was wrong of us. So we're sorry, too." agreed Alex.

"It's cool. Nothing came out of it anyway but a few slutty pictures of mine and a cheap, low budget music video with me prancing around like a whore." she sighed.

"April, let me see those pictures again." said Shelley.

She handed him her portfolios. "What?"

"Look, even though some of these are a little near X-rated, a lot of these really did turn out beautiful. Even if you really did want to become a model, I wouldn't have said no. It's your life, babe. Your choice." he continued, bringing a smile to her face. "So don't ever call yourself a slut or a whore ever again, because I sure as hell shouldn't have said that you acted like one earlier. I'm so sorry."

"That's really sweet of you, Shells. But if you don't mind, I really don't want these pictures anymore. Too many bad memories. Chris, will you do the honors?" AJ asked, handing him her folder.

"Ok." he replied, about to place them through the paper shredder. "You sure about this, sis?"

The Diva looked at Alex and then smiled. "Destroy em."

"Ah, such a shame to see beautiful pictures go to shreds." Sabin said with a sigh. Moments later, he perked back up. "Well, that was fulfilling. What do you guys want to do now?"

"Uh, what do you think, bunghole? It's 1:45 in the morning, we're getting some damn sleep!" Alex exclaimed.

"Great, cause I'm bushed." AJ smiled, kicking off her stilettos and going into another room to change into her Ninja Turtle PJs, as the guys changed, too. Soon enough, the three climbed into their beds.

"Night night, don't let the bedbugs bite." began Chris, turning the lights off. "And if they do, hit em with a shoe. Hit them till they're black and blue—"

"Shut UP!" Alex cried, annoyed.

"YOU shut up, dillweed!" Chris muttered back.

AJ giggled quietly, snuggling into her boyfriend's embrace. "You know, it feels so good to be back in my Ninja Turtles pajamas. If I ever have to wear stilettos and leather tops again, I'll puke."

Alex chuckled. "It's great seeing you like this again. And I promise, since tomorrow's the last day we're going to be here, I'm taking you on another day of shopping. How about it?"

"Yay! And thank you so much for taking me on this amazing trip, Alex. I'll never forget any of this." she smiled.

He returned her smile and nodded. "Hey, no prob. I always keep my word. So uh, since this whole modeling thing is behind us now, does this mean that I get my adorable, comic book loving, gamer chick again?" he asked with hope.

She nodded. "You sure do. I love you so much, Baby Bear." she replied with a laugh.

"Baby Be—Ok, I'm gonna just relax and not let it get to me. I love you too, you little Geek Goddess." he smirked before leaning in to give her an amazing kiss that ended one hell of an eventful day.

* * *

_**AN: So that's it for the Japan chapters! Next chapter, it's back to work for the Guns.**_


	82. Chapter 82

**Chapter 82**

About a day later, Alex, AJ, and Chris had all returned back home after their adventures in Japan. Neither of them could wait to tell their friends what they've been through and give them their presents. Velvet, in the meantime, had gotten over her violent cold and couldn't wait to see her friends again, mostly AJ and Chris. She wasn't really looking forward to Alex's insults.

"Home, sweet home!" Alex announced, entering the hotel room, where Velvet lit up and ran towards them with outstretched arms.

"Guys, you're home again!"

"AAH!" Alex cried, dodging her hug while she gave him a look. "Don't touch me! I don't want to catch your sickness!"

She scoffed. "For your information, Alex, I am feeing 100% better."

"So? Sick or not, you're still diseased." he retorted.

"Oh!" she scoffed, flashing him the finger before turning to her friend and her boyfriend. "You guys are happy to see me, right?"

"Of course we are, come here." AJ smiled, giving the Knockout a big hug. "Look, I brought you a present!"

She handed her a Hello Kitty doll in punk-styled clothes, with a Hello Kitty purse to match. "Aww AJ, thank you! I love them!" she exclaimed, hugging her again.

"You're welcome! Think of them as my 'Get Well' presents." the Diva replied.

"I will! And now, did my wonderful boyfriend get his girlfriend a little gift?" the blonde cutely pouted, wrapping her arms around Chris's neck. He smiled.

"Aw, you know I had to, babe. Here ya go." he replied, handing her a new pair of black buckled platform boots.

"Ooh! Stylin'!" she exclaimed with a smile, looking them over. "Thank you, Chris, they're perfect!"

"No problem. I love you."

"I love you, too." she replied, giving him a kiss.

Alex purposely decided to ruin the moment by gagging.

They shot him a look.

"And did YOU get me anything, Shellfish?" she demanded.

"Yeah, as a matter of fact, I did get you a little something."

She lit up. "Really? What?"

He smirked and tossed a cheap plastic yo-yo into her palm and laughed. Her expression dampened and she frowned. "Really, Alex?"

"Yeah, bought it out of a vending machine for a cheap price, so that yo-yo will be sure to provide you with hours of endless enjoyment. If it doesn't break, first." he explained.

"You're a tool!" Velvet snapped. "Anyway, AJ, Chris, thank you for being nice. So, tell me everything that happened over there!"

"Well, it's a very long story…" AJ began.

* * *

A few days later, Monday rolled around again and it was back to work for the Guns. Night of Champions was the next Pay Per View being hyped up, and that night, AJ was quite excited since she had won a Number one contender's match against Layla for the Diva's Championship. As Mickie watched the match from Jericho's locker room, though, she was jealous of her former friend getting the glory once again, instead of her. Instead of getting too worked up over it, though, she shook it off.

"Hey, Mickie—you ok?" Jericho asked, seeing her expression.

"Huh? Yeah I'm fine, just thinking about whatever." she replied. "What's up?"

"Well, since it's summer, my band's going on tour soon and I want you to come with us." he announced, to her shock.

"Me?"

"Of course!" he exclaimed, chuckling. "You're my girlfriend, why wouldn't I bring you?"

"Well, I'd never be able to take so much time off of work! I'd love to go, Chris, but this is just a bad time." the Diva replied.

"Babe, the Guns got to head all the way over to the other side of the world and roamed around Japan for a few days and didn't get in any trouble, so you have the right to take a few days off, too. Don't you think you deserve to have a little fun with me and the rest of the guys instead of sitting here looking grim?" he asked.

She nodded a little, realizing that he had a good point. But then, she had the Diva's title in mind again and realized that she couldn't leave anywhere without getting a title shot. "I don't know, Chris."

Chris sighed in defeat, but then smiled and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Ok, if that's what you want, Mickie."

"Does this mean you'll stay here with me, too?"

"Damn right I will. I'll talk to the rest of the band and reschedule, ok?"

She smiled. "You rock for this, Jericho. I love you."

"I love ya too, babe. Now since I have a little time before I have to go out, how about you bring those lips over here?" he asked with lust in his voice.

"Mmm, I thought you'd never ask." the Country Diva replied, locking lips with the blonde rock star.

Meanwhile, Johnny L was strolling down the hall and just happened to see Jericho and Mickie making out from the little window on his locker room door, and then pondered something. Interrupting his thoughts was Dave Batista, who approached him.

"Yo, Johnny, I need a word with you."

"What is it, Dave? I'm thinking."

"Look. I'm just not too thrilled with being the tag team champ anymore. I'm better than this, man! I'm the freakin' Animal! And I feel that I deserve one hell of a lot more!"

"Dave, Dave. Where are you getting to?" asked Johnny.

"Point – I want a shot at Jericho and his WWE title. It's been too long since I've been champ again, so make it happen, ok?" he asked, well, demanded.

"I understand you point, Dave, and I promise that you'll definitely get a title shot in due time. But now…"

"What about now?" he asked. "Shouldn't I come first?"

"Now…I have other issues to attend to." he announced, not taking his eyes off of Jericho and Mickie.

* * *

Later that evening, the Guns also got another lucky chance by becoming contenders for the Tag Team Championships once again, along with the team of Kofi Kingston and R Truth. Now, the Guns were back in their locker room…

"This seems to be a great night for all of us, huh?" Chris asked, texting something to Velvet back at the hotel.

"Hells yeah, dude! We get another shot at the titles that we so rightfully deserve, and my beautiful girlfriend will become the newest Diva's champion." Alex smiled, giving AJ a kiss.

"Aw, Alex, I haven't even won yet!" she exclaimed.

"But you will! I know that you have what it takes to defeat Beth, so Night of Champions will be your night to shine." he replied, taking her hands. "Plus, I was just thinking back to Summerslam and after beating Del Rio's ass, I just wanted to tell you how glad I am that…you didn't marry him." he finished, a small blush creeping across his face.

The Diva grinned at his cute demeanor and replied, "Of course, Shells. Why in the world would I marry him if I'm waiting to spend the rest of my life with a certain Machine Gun?"

Seeing her wink at him, Alex smiled before turning to find Del Rio himself strolling by and stopping to send a glare their way. Alex glared back and sent him a silent message by pulling AJ close and wrapping her in a raunchy, hot kiss.

The Mexican snarled before walking ahead and then stopping behind a corner, taking out his cell phone. "Antonio? The last plan has failed, what do we do now about them?"

AJ's father on the other line replied, _"Do not give up on them, Alberto. You just need to find a way to separate those two, all right? I do not want my daughter associating with that disrespectful punk any longer."_

He nodded. "I will try my best, sir. I won't let you down."

"_Good. Update me on your progress."_ he replied, hanging up.

The aristocrat nodded again at this, and immediately began thinking of the next phase of their master plan.

* * *

Later, Sabin had strolled out into the hall to grab a soda, but as soon as he turned a corner, he caught sight of Mickie and Jericho passionately making out against a wall, their hands roaming all over each other's bodies. Chris suddenly had a bitter feeling and was forced to shield his eyes while he quickly bought his drink from the vending machine.

Mickie turned away from Jericho and blushed, immediately feeling embarrassed. "Oh my God, Sab. I'm—I'm sorry." she uttered.

Still refusing to look at them or else his jealousy would overwhelm him, he nodded and quickly muttered, "It's all right."

Once he turned down another hall, the Detroit native sighed and leaned against a wall. It finally dawned on him that whenever he saw his ex-girlfriend kissing Jericho, or having her hands all over him, he had wished that Mickie had her hands all over him instead, just like old times.

"No." he finally said to himself. "I can't let her break me so easily. She's probably doing all this to make me feel jealous. Well, two can play at that game. I'll try and make _her_ jealous instead, and then she'll finally know how I feel."

...

So during the week, Chris decided to put his little plan in action. On Tuesday, he and Velvet were at the gym, and that same day, Jericho and Mickie just happened to arrive there, too. Sabin noticed Mickie turning his way, and smirked a little before lying down onto the weight bench, suddenly pulling Velvet down onto him and giving her a few kisses.

She giggled. "Whoa, Sab, what was that for?"

"Just taking a little break. Don't question it." he smiled, quickly looking at Mickie before pulling his girlfriend down into another kiss.

The Country Diva, on the other hand, felt that little pit of jealousy approaching her as well. She saw Chris's glance towards her and decided that he was just doing this to spite her. Well, not on her watch…

On Wednesday, the gang headed onto the plane to travel to their next city. Sabin and Velvet were about to take their seats, but couldn't once Mickie and Jericho were laughing and took their chairs before the other couple could reach them. To make matters worse, The Country Diva and the WWE Champ were busy having a tickle fight, with Mickie glancing every other second towards Chris to see his reaction. Sabin snarled and grabbed Velvet's hand, leading her to another seat.

"Chris, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, babe, the view's just better up here." he half lied and half told the truth.

On Thursday, Mickie and Jericho headed to the café at the nearest mall, where she just happened to catch Sabin and Velvet sitting just a few tables away from them. The Country Diva kept turning to see what they were up to, and when Chris caught Mickie staring back at him, he smirked and then began chewing a piece of gum. He hated to do this kind of thing in public, but desperate times called for desperate measures. After chewing a few times, he then placed his gum into Velvet's mouth, who giggled and smiled back. Mickie's eyes widened upon seeing this.

"We haven't done this before, Chris. How romantic!" the blonde exclaimed.

He quickly turned to see Mickie send a look towards him that was sheer jealousy, and smiled, turning back to his girlfriend. "I just thought that we could do something fun to spice up our relationship. That's all." he replied.

On Friday, both couples just _happened_ to be going to the same exact beach, and just _happened_ to find places on the beach right near each other. Mickie turned to see Sabin and Velvet making out under their umbrella, and decided to play him back by making out with Jericho under their umbrella. Chris had noticed this, and went to the next level by roaming his hand down Velvet's curves, before playfully grabbing her ass, making her yelp in surprise.

Mickie had noticed Chris looking over Velvet's shoulder at her while he did what he did, and the Diva retaliated by seductively roaming her fingers through Jericho's hair, before they traveled down his chest and abs, hooking onto the waistband of his trunks. Sabin's eyes widened, wondering if she was actually willing to have sex with Jericho right in front of him, and decided that enough was enough. "Hey, Velvet, wanna go and…play around in the water?" he asked, kissing her neck every other second.

"I'd love to, Sab. Race you there!" the blonde cheered, speeding towards the ocean while he laughed and chased her.

The Country Diva stopped and watched them run off, her eyes narrowing in defeat.

"Hey, Mickie, are you all right?" Jericho asked, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"

"You've been acting kind of weird over the last few days. Something on your mind?"

She glanced back at her ex-boyfriend and the blonde that she couldn't stand playing in the ocean, and then replied quietly, "More like _someone_..."

On Saturday, both couples once again had the same idea and went to the very same park in the neighborhood. The only difference was that Jericho and Mickie were having their own little picnic, while not too far from where they were, Chris and Velvet were holding hands and swinging on the swings. Sabin glanced at Mickie, who glanced back at him.

"Hey, the ice cream truck just pulled up." began Jericho. "You want a cone, babe?"

"Sure, uh, chocolate would be nice, thanks!"

"Coming right up!" he agreed, kissing her before he walked off.

Meanwhile…

"Hey, Chris, I'm going to head to the ladies room for a sec, so I'll be right back." Velvet announced.

"Ok, don't be too long, cause I'll miss you too much." he replied, smiling.

"Aww…" she grinned, giving him a quick kiss before heading off.

With their respective partners temporarily out of the picture, Chris turned to find Mickie looking back at him, and finally decided to talk to her. "Wow, so are you guys following us everywhere on purpose?"

She stood up. "Chris and I aren't following you two, you two are stalking US!"

"We are not stalking anyone! Velvet and are just enjoying each other's company, is that a problem for you?!" he demanded.

"No, you're not enjoying anything! All week, you haven't taken your eyes off of me, and I know exactly what kind of game you're playing, Sabin. So stop trying to make me jealous, cause it isn't working!" the Diva snapped.

"Make YOU jealous? Why don't you stop trying to make ME jealous?" he cried back.

"Oh, AM I making you jealous?" she challenged him.

"Maybe I am jealous, so am I making you jealous?" he challenged back.

"Yeah, maybe I'm jealous of you, too!" she cried in return.

"Oh, are you?"

"Yeah!"

They were so close to one another that they weren't thinking when they leaned in and shared an unexpected kiss! Apparently, their pent up anger had come to a boiling point, once they finally broke away from their liplock.

Chris's shining blue eyes looked directly into Mickie's sparkling brown eyes.

"Uh…" she began, unable to form words.

"…This moment never happened." Chris announced.

"Gotcha." she finished as they quickly turned and walked away in opposite directions.


	83. Chapter 83

**Chapter 83**

That very same Saturday, Alex and AJ were chilling out by the pool of their hotel, enjoying the beautiful day…

"You know, this pool doesn't even hold a candle to the one we made love in back in Japan, does it?" Alex asked, wrapping an arm around the Diva as he looked up at the sky.

She smiled. "Not at all. But you gotta admit, making love in a deserted pool in a foreign country on the other side of the world is pretty amazing."

"Touché." he agreed, giving her a kiss. "Y'know, one day, we oughta move there for good. What do you think?"

"Hmm!" she pictured it. "You and I living in one of those skyscraper houses that looks out at the town, kind of like Titans Tower."

"Exactly! And then we could look up into the sky and see a signal, telling us that there's trouble in town and then we could be an awesome superhero team and save the world from danger." Alex agreed, getting ahead of himself.

"Alex, where is this all coming from?" she asked, laughing.

"I dunno! But I have always wanted to battle Godzilla. Somebody needs to resurrect him." Shelley replied, laughing along with her.

"You'd totally kick his lizard ass, I know it." AJ agreed. "But you do know that if we ever moved there, Chris would have to tag along with us, right?"

"Aw, April, don't kill the daydream with him!" he whined.

"Come on, he's our partner in crime! He's not going anywhere without us."

"Ok, fine. If he has to tag along, he'll be our personal servant boy named Chives. And he'll have to walk around, wearing a maid outfit." Alex announced.

"Jeez, you're so mean, Alex!" she laughed.

"You still love me, though, don't ya?"

"Of course I do, come here…" she began, leaning over him to give him a few more kisses. Then, they were interrupted once her cell lit up. "Aww…"

"Who's calling?"

"Oh…wow, it's a text from mommy. Let me see what she wants."

"Coolio. Tell her I said hi."

"Will do." she replied, reading over the text. "…Really? Wow, this sounds interesting."

"What's it say?"

"She says that she's arranging a family reunion at the end of this month, and you and your family's invited to come." she announced, looking up at him.

"No kidding? Hmm, I always have had a lot of crazy moments at these kinds of reunions but—" he paused.

"What?"

"Wait. Since this is a _family_ reunion, your excuse for a father's going to be there, isn't he?" Shelley asked, turning serious.

Her eyes narrowed.

"Babe, I'd love to go, but I refuse to be anywhere that he's gonna be." he continued. "I can't stand him or his attitude any more."

"Alex, I don't want to turn her down by not showing up. But trust me: if we do go, I will make sure that he doesn't bother us or see us. We can't be afraid of him, Shells, it's two against one. We're stronger than him." AJ replied, taking his hands.

"Good point." he smiled.

"Okay! So should I tell her that we'll be there?"

"All right. But if she's inviting my folks, we better head back to the Motor City tomorrow to ask if they want to tag along. Deal?" he asked.

She placed her hand into his. "Let's do it."

* * *

So the next day, the two headed back to Detroit to have a little meeting with Alex's folks. The main difference between AJ's folks and Alex's was that both his parents had accepted AJ with open arms when he first introduced her to them, and they've all been close ever since. Once she met Alex's sister, they almost became like sisters as well.

As they approached the front door, AJ grabbed Alex's hand and told him, "You know, I always have fun coming here. Your parents and your sis are so cool to me, and I love them for it. Just as much as I love you."

He smiled. "Hey, why wouldn't we love you? You're just like a member of the family, and unlike your father, they're open to anyone."

The Diva smiled and nodded, wrapping him in a kiss. They didn't see the door open and Alex's older sister Abby answer it. She was about AJ's height and was very pretty, despite the fact that Alex always had an insult or two to hurl at her anyway.

"Ooo-oo, Alex, why don't you let the girl breathe before you eat her face off?" she asked with a smirk.

He gave her a look while AJ smiled. "Abby!" she exclaimed, wrapping her in a hug.

"Welcome back, Crazy Chick!" she exclaimed back. "Has my little brother been behaving himself or does he need to be spanked again?"

"Shut up, Abigail!" Alex snapped, calling her by her full name which she absolutely hated.

"Don't call me that, Alexander!" she cried, chasing him around the room while Alex laughed and hid behind the couch. He made a mad dash across the living room before Abby managed to tackle him down. "AJ, hurry and get the paddles!"

"Baby, don't listen to her, she's trying to torture me!" he cried back, struggling to get himself from under his sister.

"No, ignore him, get the paddles and you'll get to spank him to your heart's content!" she exclaimed in reply.

"Let me GO!" Alex cried.

The Diva couldn't refuse that! "Getting a chance to spank that cute little ass of his? I'm in!" she smiled, running off but froze once their parents entered the room.

Hoping that they didn't just hear what she had said about spanking their son's ass, the tiny Diva grew into a shy smile. "H-Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Shelley!"

Instead of getting mad, though, they smiled.

"Hello, April, nice to see you around again!" his mother, Rachel, replied, giving her a hug.

"Yeah, long time no see, Squirt!" his dad, Billy agreed, tassling her hair while she giggled. "Alex, why don't you ever bring her around here more often?"

"Neither of us can come over as much as you want us to, we're on the road like, 300-plus days out of the year." he replied, getting back up while his sister did the same.

"Which makes every visit that much more special." his mother smiled, pinching his cheek and giving him a kiss.

AJ and Abby snickered, while Shelley turned red. "Ma, stop doing that, they're laughing at me!"

"Oh, stop it, Alex. Hey, you've got a little smudge right there, let me get that off for ya." she replied, licking her thumb and cleaning him off while the girls laughed even harder.

"Ma!" he whined. "Well…then again, I guess I'd rather have you do this than Chris, so okay."

"Where IS Chris, anyway? He's always tagging along with you guys." questioned Billy.

"Oh, just hanging back at the hotel with his creature of a girlfriend, that's all." replied Alex.

"Wait, you're not talking about Mickie, are you?" asked Abby.

"Why in the world would you call that sweet girl a creature, Alex?" Rachel demanded.

"No, I'm not talking about Mickie! I'm talking about his new girlfriend." he explained.

"Whoa, you mean Chris and Mickie broke up?" Abby asked, shocked.

"Yeah, it's a very long and painful story, but it's true." agreed AJ. "Alex and I tried everything we could to get them back together."

"Aw, such a shame. Those two seemed pretty inseparable." replied Billy.

"Oh, they still are, Billy-Bill. We know that they still have feelings for one another, but they're too afraid to admit it." Alex replied.

"Ok, sounds good—Billy-Bill?" he questioned. "What happened to 'Dad'?"

"Aw, come on, I'm a grown man now, I can call you guys by whatever names I want to call ya. Like how April's my cute little Geek Goddess, and how Abby's related to the Swamp Thing." he said with a smirk.

She growled and slipped off her shoe, ready to beat him with it. "Ooh, I'm gonna KILL you for that, you little bastard!" his sister screamed, chasing him around the room again while Alex pretty much ran for his life.

"NO! Leave me alone, this is considered child abuse! Or—Or little brother abuse, or whatever you call it!" he cried, dodging the shoe which bounced off of the wall.

"Alex, Abby, knock it off right now! You're both adults, so act like adults!" their mother exclaimed. "Oh! Watch out for my vase!"

"HELP ME!" Alex shouted, being beaten by a pillow, courtesy of Abby. Her leg bumped into the side coffee table, where the vase was about to fall to the floor.

"Whoopsie, I got it!" AJ cried, catching it before it could shatter. Meanwhile, their father managed to split them apart, holding them each by the arm.

"Time out, flag on the play!" he exclaimed. "Let's call it a draw, all right?"

"Oh, my wonderful vase is saved, April, you are an angel." Rachel replied, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Alex, Abby, what have I told you about playing in the living room?"

"She started it!" Alex exclaimed, whining.

"Oh, shut up and take it like a man, you little wuss." his sister replied with a triumphant smile. "I whooped you and you know it!"

"Mom, dad, she's bullying me!" Alex pouted.

"Momma's boy." Abby snickered.

"This needs to be a reality show." AJ announced, the smile never leaving her face.

"Sadly, I agree." added Mrs. Shelley. "So, what brings you two by tonight? Not that I'm not happy to see the both of you."

"Oh, right! Um, I got a text from my mom yesterday saying how she was planning a family reunion at the end of the month, and she said that all of you guys were invited to come." the Diva announced.

"Hey, that sounds great!" exclaimed Billy.

"Aw, that sounds very nice! Will there be games and such?" asked Rachel.

Abby smiled. "Maybe I could find a hot guy to make out with."

"Abby!"

"Sorry, ma." she said quickly.

AJ laughed. "Yeah, there's going to be tons of games and a BBQ, and everything, so it should be great!"

"Well, it's settled, we're going!" Billy exclaimed, clapping his hands in excitement. "I'll try and call up the rest of the family right now and see if they can come with us."

"This is very sweet of you and your mother, April, tell her we said thanks." Mrs. Shelley smiled, giving her another hug. "Oops, gotta check on dinner. Be right back!"

"Thanks for the invite, Crazy Chick." Abby smiled. "Can't wait to meet the rest of your folks. Plus, I'm sure that our dads will get along real well."

The Diva paled for a moment, knowing all too well that nothing good could come out of any one of them meeting her so called 'father'. "Uh, well—"

Alex noticed this and cut in, "Hey, Swamp Thing, go and-and rake the leaves or something."

"Hey moron, you do know that it's summer, right? I don't see any leaves, but I'll leave you two alone anyway." the older sister smiled, heading up to her room.

"Whew. Thanks for the save, Alex." AJ turned to him.

"Yeah, no prob. See, the thing is, I don't want to tell em why I have such a problem with your pop, cause I don't want em to shun you for it once they hear the truth, y'know?" he replied.

She nodded. "That's what I was thinking, too. But as long as we don't see a trace of him at the reunion, things should go great."

"Booyah." Alex nodded, knuckle punching with her. Suddenly, he was startled once he was splashed from behind with ice cold water. "AAH!"

Abby snuck from downstairs with her trusty super-soaker water gun. "Gotcha."

"Goddamn it, I'm gonna KILL you for that, you giant cootie!" Alex snapped.

"Gotta catch me first!" she laughed, splashing both he and AJ while she squealed.

"_TAKE THAT OUT OF MY HOUSE RIGHT NOW!"_ their mother cried from the kitchen.

"Ok, we'll take it outside, then! Whoo!" Abby cried, speeding out of the front door.

"April, let's do that evasive maneuver thing and double team her! C'mon!" Alex cried, grabbing her hand once they headed outside for some fun and some sweet revenge.


	84. Chapter 84

**_AN: Get ready for this one, folks... ;)_  
**

* * *

**Chapter 84**

Fast forwarding to September 16th, it was another Sunday, and it was the night of the annual Night of Champions PPV, where every title was to be defended. The Guns had a busy night on their hands since Chris and Alex had to battle Kofi and R Truth, along with Dave and Dolph for the tag titles. Even though all three teams put up a great fight, Truth and Kingston were able to win the titles due to Jack Swagger running in and costing Dave and Dolph the win. Jericho was off to defend his WWE title against a new contender, since Punk had his last chance at Summerslam. Finally, AJ was the most excited out of them all, because tonight she hoped to win her very first Diva's Championship from Beth Phoenix, and the Guns were there to support her 100%.

"Your match is up next, babe. You nervous?" Alex asked, massaging her shoulders while she did a few warm-ups.

"No, not nervous. Terrified." she announced shakily. "Guys, this is it. My very first title opportunity and I don't want to screw it up out there."

"Sis, relax!" Chris exclaimed. "There's nothing to be afraid of, you've kicked ass before and you'll kick ass again!"

"But what happens if I don't win? What if I never get a title opportunity again?" she asked.

Alex turned her around so that she was facing him. "Baby, stop doubting yourself. The fans are behind you, we're behind you, and even if you don't win, nothing's gonna change. You'll still be the awesome Machine Gun that you are, and I'll still love you either way."

She smiled. "Thanks, Shells, I needed to hear that. And thanks to all of you guys." she turned to Chris and Velvet. "I'll try and make you guys proud!"

"You totally will, AJ! Good luck!" Velvet smiled, giving her a hug.

"Vel, babe, she doesn't need luck, cause we know that she's gonna win either way." Sabin replied, giving her a hug and tassling her hair.

"Damn right she will. And if anyone tries to interfere, we'll be out to stop em." Alex agreed, giving her a kiss. "I love you."

"I love you, too." the tiny Diva grinned back, sending them one last wave before heading off.

* * *

Moments later, the title match was about to begin…

Beth Phoenix's theme music was heard through the arena as Lillian announced, "This match is scheduled for one fall, and it is for the Diva's Championship! Approaching the ring first, from Buffalo, New York, she is the Current Diva's champion and one half of the Diva's tag team champions, Beth Phoenix!"

The crowd sent their usual boos her way while the blonde smiled proudly, carrying her tag title over one shoulder and her Diva's title over the other. Stepping into the ring, she posed over the turnbuckles while holding her titles in the air, before climbing down and waiting for her opponent.

_"Hundred miles an hour on a dead end road_

_I need a little Detroit in my soul_

_Every night's hotel a different name_

_It's part of the game_

_Everybody wants to be just like me_

_Fame and fortune is their fantasy_

_I gotta get back where the life was pretty_

_Rockin all the way to the Motorcity_

_Motorcity, motorcity, motorcity, I'm rockin' all the way to the motorcity..."_

The fans roared for the tiny Diva once she arrived at the top of the ramp, posing her Guns sign while Lillian continued, "And her opponent, hailing from Detroit, Michigan, AJ!"

The brunette slapped the fans' hands and almost skipped down to the ring because she was that excited for her first title match. Inside, though, she was unsure if she'd be able to defeat Beth, but then decided that she was damn well going to try and make her boyfriend and her friends proud. After she posed over the turnbuckles, she stepped back into the ring and faced Beth. The blonde smirked at her opponent, or prey, as she thought of it, and cracked her knuckles as the ref held up the title for all to see.

AJ eyed the prize down and mentally told herself that she was going to win this. Soon after that, the bell rung, signaling the start of the match.

The two women circled one another, trying to find some offensive, before locking up. The Glamazon used her strength advantage to overpower the smaller Diva, but with her being the fighter that she was, AJ managed to push Beth back with a low dropkick, followed by a slur of punches against the Dominant Diva's back. Before Beth could get back to her feet, AJ capitalized ever further by roughly kicking her in the gut a few times, backing her up into the corner ringpost. The blonde managed to dodge a punch by the smaller Diva, and leapt up to where she swung AJ into the same corner ringpost.

The Diva's champ smirked at her cornered opponent and sped towards her, hoping to smash her even further into the turnbuckles, but April managed to slid out of the way just in time, allowing Beth to take the damage. She continued the fight by tripping the blonde to the ground, and then placing her head between her legs, rattling the blonde's head with multiple push-up facebusters while eliciting some cheers from the guys in the crowd.

With Beth shaken up, AJ tried to go for an early pin, but the Dominant Diva quickly kicked out at two. Before AJ could attack her again, the New York native fought back with a delayed cradle suplex, followed by a cloverleaf. With the tiny Diva lied out, she took the opportunity to go for the pin, but AJ managed to kick out at two. Once she quickly got up, the two eyed one another, similar smirks plastered across both of their faces. Even though AJ hated Beth, and Beth couldn't stand AJ, the two still had some level for respect for one another in the ring.

When the two circled around again, Beth surprised AJ with a slap to the face, followed by AJ slapping her in return. The women began to trade punches with an equal amount of momentum, until Beth started gaining more power and took the smaller Diva down with a military press which transitioned into a slam to the mat. Going for the cover, AJ kicked out at two. Not giving her a chance to get back up, Beth got behind the tiny Diva and held both her arms back in a seated double chickenwing, while the ref was waiting to see if AJ would submit. She cried out, but furiously shook her head 'no', refusing to give up. Then, the brunette managed to loosen Beth's grip by elbowing her in the jaw a few times, before attacking with a shining wizard.

The blonde was stunned and stumbled to her feet, but was then caught into a wheelbarrow bulldog, courtesy of the tiny Diva. When AJ approached her for the pin, Beth needed some time to think, so she quickly slipped out of the ring, but then had to run once AJ slid out behind her and began chasing her around the outside of the ring. Desperate times called for desperate measures, at least, that's what Beth thought in a new plan to keep her title. When the ref wasn't looking, she grabbed a steel chair and tossed it towards AJ, who caught it. Knowing all well that she wouldn't win the title in a DQ, she quickly tossed the chair back to Beth. The women continued playing Hot Potato with the steel chair, but once the ref turned around, the chair was suddenly abandoned once the girls grappled and tried to fight one another off.

Beth got the advantage once she pulled AJ by the hair and sent her crashing into the steel steps. As the Diva reeled in pain, a sadistic smile grew on the Glamazon's face, before picking her up again and slamming her back-first onto the steps. AJ screamed, holding her lower back, but when she saw Beth running with a big boot, she quickly slid out of the way, allowing the blonde's foot to painfully collide into the steel steps.

This time, she was the one yelling in pain, while AJ held one hand to her back and got her revenge by targeting the Glamazon's bad leg and slamming it against the steel. She yelled out, grabbed her ankle, and quickly crawled away before AJ could do any more damage to her. Once the Diva approached Beth, she fought back by using her good leg to kick the tiny Diva away, sending her crashing into the barricades. AJ groaned, holding the back of her head, but once the ref began counting, "1!...2!...3!..." both she and Beth knew that they had to hurry back into the ring.

Beth pretty much had to ease into the ring, favoring her bad leg, while AJ eased into the ring, favoring her lower back.

With both Divas entering the ring at the same time, they were desperate to gain a win, as the two began trading punches once again. Beth capitalized with a slingshot suplex, followed by a Samoan driver. She quickly went for the cover, but AJ moved her leg over the rope, before the ref could count to three. Beth saw this and began an argument with the ref that she had both shoulders down, and as she had her back turned, AJ climbed up to her feet, whipped the Glamazon around to face her, and attacked next with a Tilt a whirl DDT. Ready to finish her off, she captured the energy from the fans chanting her name, and posed her Guns sign, before finishing Beth off with a Sliced Bread #2. She quickly went for the cover as the ref counted, "1…2…3!"

The fans stood to their feet to congratulate the tiny Diva, whose eyes widened in shock as Lillian announced, "Here is your winner and the **NEW** Diva's Champion, AJ!"

The brunette was on her knees with a look of astonishment on her face, not believing that she'd actually won! Finally, her dream was realized once the ref handed AJ the Diva's title, and she couldn't stop the tears from flowing down her face once she looked at her reflection in the belt that she was holding. She knew that the Guns were probably celebrating their asses off backstage, and she couldn't wait to join them. But first, she smiled widely and raised her title, celebrating her win with the fans.

_"Hey, hey, can't you see?_

_I'm a rockin southern girl runnin' wild and free_

_Hey, ya'll walkin' through the door_

_High-class style country to the core_

_HARDCORE COUNTRY!_

_Back woods or uptown_

_HARDCORE COUNTRY!_

_Rockin' your world with a thrillbilly sound_

_Hills and stones_

_Junior and Jones_

_One thing I'll always be_

_HARDCORE COUNTRY!"_

AJ's head shot up and turned to the top of the ramp upon hearing Mickie's theme music, and wondered what the hell she was doing out there. The Country Diva ran into the ring and approached AJ, a small smile on her face. AJ, in the meantime, was confused. Was she there to congratulate her? Mickie nodded her head and then wrapped the tiny Diva in a big hug, and the surprised Diva's champion smiled and hugged her back.

After the hug, Mickie held up one finger as if to say, 'hold on a second', before sliding out of the ring and going under. Now, both AJ and the fans were confused as to what was going on, but to everyone's shock, Mickie had pulled out her pink MITB briefcase!

AJ's eyes widened.

Mickie sent her a wicked smile before giving the briefcase to the ref, deciding that now was the perfect time to cash in. The new Diva's champ, however, gasped and protectively held her new title, shaking her head 'no' and asking, "Mickie, what the HELL are you doing?"

She glared at her. "This." she uttered before locking lips with the Diva, giving her the Long Kiss Goodnight, and then superkicking her!

"OH!" the fans cried, shocked.

Mickie laughed triumphantly at this and went for the pin, as the ref counted, "1…2…3!"

So then the title changed hands once AGAIN, as the fans sent their jeers towards Mickie. Apparently, her heel turn had turned full cycle now. Before Lillian could formally announce her as the winner, Mickie grabbed the mic and kneeled down next to her fallen ex-best friend.

"Haha. Hi, AJ. Surprised to see me ruin your little moment, huh? Well, I just wanted to tell you that I don't care!" she exclaimed, laughing harder while the boos continued. "Look, babe. I'm so glad to finally be out of your shadow, and you know what? Unlike the other _Divas_, I am a woman, and I'm about to make a much needed change. Hold on."

She quickly stepped behind the announcer's table and held up the Women's Championship, last held my Michelle McCool and Layla back in 2010. Climbing back into the ring, she continued, "Say goodbye to your precious Diva's Championship, because I'm bringing back the Women's Championship for good. Yo, Lillian? Why don't you announce to these fine people who the new champion is." she called.

A confused Lillian took her mic and announced, "Here is your winner, and the **NEW **Women's Champion, Mickie James!"

The Country Diva held up her newly won title with a huge smile, taking in all of the jeers from the crowd. This was indeed a Night of Champions for her, but not for poor AJ.

Oh, how the tables have turned.


	85. Chapter 85

**_AN: Feeling generous today. Gonna post not one, but two rare Sunday updates._  
**

* * *

**Chapter 85**

After the trainwreck of a match that had just happened after AJ won and lost her title, Mickie proudly headed backstage first, with her Women's title slung over her shoulder. AJ was right behind her, stark raving mad.

Alex, Chris, and Velvet came out to talk to AJ, to no avail.

"AJ, wait—" Alex began, but AJ was totally focused on Mickie at the moment.

"Mickie, what the hell was that out there?!" she nearly yelled.

"Whatever do you mean?" the Country Diva asked, smiling innocently.

"Shit, you just cost me my frickin' title!" she cursed. Everyone that knew AJ knew that she rarely ever cursed, and whenever she did, she just had to be furious. "Why the hell did you betray me like that?! Do you know how embarrassing that was? Attacking me like that in front of all those people? What-What did I do to you to deserve this?"

"Wow, why do you have so many questions?" the Country Diva asked. "Look, what's done is done, so just deal with it and move on, ok?"

Before she could walk off, Alex stopped her. "Mickie, you may have done some pretty low things recently. But what you just did to April, that's crossing the line." he told her. "What the hell has gotten into you lately?"

"Oh, I can answer that." Velvet smirked. "Jericho's gotten into her. And out of her. And into her again. You catching my drift?"

The brunette snarled. "Look, my sex life with Jericho's none of your damn business, bitch, so why don't you just shut the hell up before I knock you into a coma with this title?!"

"Oh please! You're just upset that everyone's mad at you now and not at me!" the blonde replied.

"So?"

"'So.' That's all you can say about this, Mickie?" asked Alex. "You know something? April, Chris, and I were always on your side at first, even when all this other B.S. with Jericho was going on before. But now, you're no better than Velvet here!"

"Hm." Velvet smiled triumphantly.

Mickie eyed them all down, mostly AJ, Alex, and Velvet, before laughing and walking off on her merry way.

"Is that how it's gonna be, Mickie?!" AJ screamed after her. "Huh? HUH? FINE! Consider our friendship OVER!"

"April, come here." Alex tried to calm her down by wrapping his arms around her.

She continued yelling, "You BACKSTABBER!"

"April!" Alex cried again.

"That was MY title, Mickie!" she cried, before burying herself into Alex's arms. "Alex, it was mine…" she mumbled, sobbing while he soothingly roamed a hand up and down her back.

"Ok, ok, calm down, baby. Shh…" he whispered.

Velvet sympathetically watched Alex holding the upset Diva before telling Chris, "Oh, poor AJ. She was so happy just a few minutes ago, and look what that bitch goes and does to her now!"

Sabin really had nothing much to say at the moment, and just shook his head. "AJ sure as hell didn't deserve what happened to her, I'll tell you that." he finally replied.

She turned to him. "So now you can finally agree with the rest of us that Mickie's a no-good user, right?"

"That's what _you _think, Vel, not me." he replied.

"Oh come on, Chris! Don't tell me you're still on her side after what she just did to AJ, your little sister!"

He sighed. "Look. I admit, I don't approve of what Mickie did to her, that was wrong. But I'm not just gonna turn on her like you guys have."

She crossed her arms. "Don't go this route, Chris, please."

"I'm serious! I just think that there's more to the story behind everything that Mickie had just done." he said thoughtfully. "She's obviously not doing this on her own."

Meanwhile, Mickie was still smiling once she was prancing down the hall, and when she turned the corner, she was face to face with Chris Jericho. He had a serious look on his face, before breaking into a huge smile and wrapping her in his arms, twirling her around.

"Oh, Mickie, congratulations! You did GREAT!" he cheered.

She laughed and gave him a big kiss. "Oh, thank you, Chris! I can't believe everything actually worked so perfectly!"

"Ah, you're smart, I knew you would've pulled it off. So, how does it feel bringing prestige back to the Women's division?"

"Chris…it feels wonderful. I feel wonderful!" she giggled.

"And you deserve to feel wonderful. Now that you've gotten rid of that dead weight that you've been forced to carry around with the Guns. You're finally the independent woman that you deserve to be, and I couldn't be more proud of ya."

"Thanks, baby, I couldn't have done this without you. And now, we can be champions and rule this place forever." the Diva grinned.

"We sure will, beautiful. And you know what? I am going to plan a huge celebration party for you, since this is such an important occasion."

"Aww, you will?" she kept smiling.

"Of course! It's only what any good boyfriend would do for his girl. And now, nobody's going to try and knock us off of our thrones because we're a forced to be reckoned with. I love you so much, Mickie." he said sincerely.

Her eyes sparkled. "I love you too, Chris." she replied, before they leaned in to share another kiss, backing themselves into his locker room for their own little private celebration.

* * *

Later that evening, the Guns were back at their hotel, trying to comfort a depressed AJ. Right now, the tiny Diva was angrily lying on the bed, channel flipping while trying to block out every thought of her ex-best friend stealing away her title. Moments later, Alex, Chris, and Velvet joined her, each holding a gift behind their backs.

"April, babe?" began Shelley. "Have you uh, calmed down from earlier yet?"

As a reply, she furiously threw the TV remote so hard against the wall, that it broke on impact!

"Damn!" Chris cried, shocked.

"You're paying for it." Alex muttered to him while he shot him a look in response. "April, I know you're hurting right now, but you can't sit here and be like this."

"I have every right to sit here and be pissed off! My so called best friend took the easy way out and decided to cash in her briefcase on me, right after I busted my ass to finally win the title that I've wanted since forever!" she exclaimed. "If she had to fight me for it, it could've at least been in a match! She's such a…such a bitch!"

Velvet sat next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Sweetie, I know that Mickie betrayed you, but she's not worth being angry and depressed over, ok? You're a fighter, and you WILL get a title rematch against her and win."

She nodded. "Yeah. That's exactly what I'm gonna do." she agreed. "Whenever I see her again, I'm calling her out for a rematch and she's gonna pay."

"That's the spirit." Velvet smiled, pulling her in for a side hug. "So, you feel just a little bit better?"

The Diva shrugged. "Yes and no. But thanks for the chat, Vel, you really gave me something to really think about."

"No problem."

Alex gave Velvet a surprised look. "How dare you try and make my girlfriend feel better? That's supposed to be MY job!"

AJ managed to laugh. "Shells, you can make me feel a whole lot better if you give me a great big hug." she said innocently, outstretching her arms.

He smiled and joined her on the bed, wrapping his arms around her small frame, and kissing the top of her head. "Now this, I can do." he replied. "Oh yeah, and before we forget, we went out and bought you some presents to make you feel better."

"Aww, you guys did? You didn't have to!"

"We wanted to, though." replied Chris with a smile. "I got you that new Lollipop Chainsaw game that you wanted so badly."

She lit up. "Chris, thank you! Oh my God, this must've cost you a fortune!"

"Not much, just $58.95." he smirked. "My wallet's still hurting because of it, but I figured that since you're my little sis, you're worth it."

The Diva smiled and wrapped him up in a big hug. "I love you, bro."

"I love you, too." he smiled back.

"Well, uh, I don't know if my gift can own up to his, but I got you your favorite chocolate marshmallow ice cream!" Velvet exclaimed, smiling.

"Oh, yay, this is just what I needed to make me feel better! Thanks!" she grinned.

"No prob. Now Shellfish, your turn." the blonde said flatly.

"Thanks, Della Beast." he said just as flatly before pulling out a bouquet of flowers for AJ. "My gift needs no introduction. Win or lose the title, babe, you're still my champion and I love you."

Her smile grew bigger as she blushed. "Oh, Alex, these are beautiful and so are you. Thanks!"

After they kissed, she continued, "Guys, you're the best, I'm already starting to forget about whatshername."

"Then we're doing our jobs right. Besides, we still have the family reunion to look forward to in a week, remember?" asked Alex.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot!"

"Wait, what family reunion?" asked Chris.

"Oh, the other day, my mom sent me a text that she's holding a reunion back in New Jersey, and Alex and his folks are invited, too. Should be lots of fun." she explained.

"Wait, wait, but if this is a family reunion, then won't your scumbag of a father be there, too?" Sabin questioned.

Alex and AJ looked at one another.

"Well, we're hoping that he won't be, because if my folks ever find out about the way he's been treating me, I'm just afraid that they'll shun April for it." replied Shelley.

"But for all it's worth, we're hoping that he won't be there and that everything'll go great!" AJ smiled.

"Well, I hope that it does! Say, can Chris and I come along, too? And I'm asking you, AJ, not Alex, cause I refuse to be rejected by him again." Velvet said, flashing him a glare.

"Yeah, I probably would reject you." he agreed, smiling.

"Sure, you guys can come, the more, the merrier!" AJ agreed.

"Yeah, reunion time! WOOHOO!" Chris cheered. "Let's start packing now! Come on, baby."

"Chris, they said that the reunion's not for a week, calm down!" Velvet cried as she dragged him out of the room.

Meanwhile, Alex and AJ shared a laugh, before turning to one another and sharing a kiss.

"I really do have the best friends and the best boyfriend in the world." she announced, looking into his eyes. "I just really hope this reunion turns out to be a success without daddy dearest crashing the party."

"Well, we just have to forget about him. Out of sight, out of mind, right? I have a feeling that we're gonna have a great time, and you're going to forget all about tonight, K?" he asked.

"I sure hope so." she sighed, wrapping her arms around his slim waist and looking into space.


	86. Chapter 86

**Chapter 86**

About a week later, Alex, AJ, Chris, and Velvet were headed to New Jersey for the family reunion, while back with the WWE crew, Jericho was planning his huge Championship party for Mickie. The celebration was held at this club in town that Chris had managed to rent out for the day, and things were running pretty smoothly.

"Ok, babe, keep em closed, all right?" Jericho asked, covering her eyes while they approached the building.

"How can I open them when your hands are all over my face?" Mickie asked, laughing.

"Oh, don't be such a priss!" he laughed back, before opening the door and leading her inside. "Ok, you can open them now."

She did, to see pretty much all of the heels in the WWE smiling and applauding her for her accomplishment of winning and bringing back the Women's Championship, in typical heel fashion. Oh, and Johnny L was there too, of course, with that stupid grin across his face and sending her a thumbs-up.

"Oh, my God!" Mickie exclaimed, smiling. "You all came here for me?"

Beth Phoenix approached her first. "We did. Look, Mickie, you were our number one enemy in the past, but now, you're all right. That was a real smooth move costing that little nerd AJ the title that I shouldn't have lost in the first place—" she began, getting angry at the memory. Then, she calmed herself down again and continued, "…but if anyone had to take the title from me, I'm glad that it's you. Congratulations on the win, Mickie."

The Country Diva smiled and shook her hand. "Thanks, Glamazon. I appreciate your honesty, and if you ever want a shot at this title again, I'm all for it, honey." she replied. "And that goes for all of you women in the room. As long as I'm holding this title, I'll only allow WOMEN a title shot. Divas can just forget about it and go back to painting their nails and looking like the cheap tramps that they are."

Maxine and Rosa Mendes, who were also there, crossed their arms and shot her a disapproving look for that comment.

Then, Eve approached the Country Diva next. Before she could say anything, Mickie cut her off. "Yeah, I still consider you a Diva, so don't even think about asking me for a title shot, ok?"

"Hey! I am nothing like a Diva! I am the executive assistant to Johnny, thank you very much, and you all know how important I am here!" the Latina exclaimed.

Mickie wasn't impressed and then turned to Jericho. "Why did you invite this bitch again?"

"HEH?!" Eve demanded, not hearing her right.

"Uh, yeah, she just came included with Johnny. Sorry." Chris shrugged apologetically.

"Well, whatevs, we'll just ignore her. But anyway, I really do appreciate everyone for coming to the party and to celebrate the beginning of something great." she told everyone, before turning to her boyfriend. "And Chris, most importantly, I want to thank you for being the sweetest rock star around and for throwing me this amazing bash. I love you so much."

The blonde smiled and wrapped his arms around her waist. "I love you too, Mickie. You deserve the best, and the best is what you're gonna get. Let's hear it for our new Women's Champion!" he exclaimed.

"WHOO!" the crowd cheered for her, toasting their drinks in the air.

"PEOPLE POWER!" Johnny announced cheerfully.

Everyone stopped and turned to look at him.

"Uh. I'm gonna—gonna go in the back." he muttered, heading off.

"Mickie, I just have one last surprise for you that I know that you'll love." Chris began, heading towards a back room. "In honor of you being the best and eventually the longest reigning Women's champ in history, I think that you're gonna love this. Hold on."

The confused and smiling Diva anxiously awaited her surprise, along with the other guests.

"I wonder if it's pie." announced Dolph. "I like pie. And Britney Spears."

Moments later, Jericho wheeled out a HUGE 6 foot cake from the back room, as Mickie and the others gasped in wide eyed shock. He began singing,

"_But more than anything, more than anything,  
My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,  
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,  
You never need to carry more than you can hold,  
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,  
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,  
Yeah, this, is my wish."_

The Diva was really beginning to tear up while she applauded along with the others, and finally replied, "Oh, Chris, this is amazing! I—I don't know what to say!"

"You don't have to say anything, babe. I just want you to know how much I love you and how this will be a day that you'll remember." the Canadian replied, smiling.

"Oh, this WILL be a day to remember." a feminine British voice agreed.

Mickie, Jericho, and the guests turned around to find Britani Knight and Kaitlyn standing by the front door, with smirks plastered onto their faces.

The Country Diva, though, was not amused. "Excuse me, but you two DIVAS aren't invited to this party, and I demand that you both get out of here before I have security throw you out." she announced harshly.

"But why? We just came to check out the party." Kaitlyn said with a mischievous smile, slowly walking around the room with Britani by her side.

"Wow, where's the life in this party? Bloody hell, the parties that we have in Britain are leagues better than this snoozefest." the raven haired Diva agreed.

"Look, why are you two even here?!" Mickie demanded, a little annoyed by the fact that nobody else in there was even trying to back her up.

"You know why we're here, Mickie." Kaitlyn answered, crossing her arms. "You won—no, STOLE the title from AJ that she worked so hard to win, and you don't deserve a damn thing!"

"Why am I the bad girl here? I was just playing by the rules, just like anyone else would've!" she argued. "I won the Money in the Bank briefcase, I was awarded a shot at the title any time I pleased, and **I** managed to find my golden opportunity to cash in, so AJ just happened to be there at the right time!"

The girls shook their heads. "You have no idea how wrong you are for doing that, Mickie." Britani sighed. "No idea. AJ has been more than a friend to you for how long now? And as soon as you hook up with your shoddy excuse for a boyfriend back there, you backstab all of your friends, including her!"

Jericho was insulted. "WHAT did you just call me?"

"Shoddy. You know, broken down, cheap, dingy, shabby, tacky…need we go on?" she continued while Jericho was turning red in the face.

"Hey, you have no right to talk about me that way you little—" he began.

Mickie cut him off and told the girls, "ENOUGH! Now, I will turn around to get a piece of my cake. When I turn back around, I expect to see you two out of this building and out of my sight. Are we clear?"

They glared at her.

"Good." she finished, turning around to slice a piece of the huge cake sitting before her. Before she could, though, a mystery man burst from out of the huge dessert, his arms outstretched and roared in a monster-like voice, "RAAAAAAAAHHH!"

"_AAAAHHHH!"_ Mickie and some of the other guests shrieked, jumping back a mile.

The mystery man could be seen as the one and only CM Punk, who was covered from head to toe with frosting and bits of cake. He laughed menacingly and ran around the place, trying to terrorize the other guests. Britani and Kaitlyn smiled, knuckle punching one another, while Jericho and Mickie exchanged looks and approached the Straightedge Superstar.

"Hey, HEY! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" the Canadian demanded, pissed.

"Get OUT of here right now!" Mickie snapped.

Punk laughed, tasting some cake from his cheek. "Mm, tasty cake. Anyhoo, I heard about your little victory party, Mickie, and after what you and your little boy-toy did to me over the last few weeks, I just thought that I'd show up and crash it." he said with a smile. "That's why the lovely Britani and Kaitlyn are here, too."

"Well, that's all fine and dandy, but will you three please get the HELL OUTTA HERE?!" Jericho cried.

"Well, no! How could we ever leave without starting a…_FOOD FIGHT!_" Punk yelled before grabbing huge chunks of cake and throwing them at the other guests, as they screamed and ran for cover. The Divas there shrieked and covered their hair, high tailing themselves into another room. Britani and Kaitlyn laughed along, grabbing bottles of wine and adding to the mess by spraying the beverage at everyone who was fleeing the premises.

"STOP! RIGHT NOW!" Mickie cried, but was stopped once she and Jericho were being sprayed in the faces with the wine next.

"Security? SECURITY!" the Canadian screamed. Unfortunately for them, the security bailed on them, too.

"Come on, Mickie, let's get these trespassers OUTTA here!" Jericho yelled. But before the unhappy couple could reach the three, they took off speeding out of the building, laughing all the way.

"_Yeah, we did it!"_ Punk was heard cheering from a distance.

After they disappeared, Jericho turned to a shaken-up Mickie and gently placed an arm around her. "Baby, you ok?"

As a reply, the Country Diva looked at her wine-soaked clothes and cake-covered hair while her lip trembled. Then, she sped off into another room in tears.

"Mickie, wait! Mickie!" Chris called after her.


	87. Chapter 87

**Chapter 87**

While Jericho and Mickie were still trying to get over their mess of a celebration party, the Guns had headed to New Jersey for the family reunion, which was held at this beach club that AJ's mother had rented out for the day. Throughout the plane ride there, AJ couldn't help but to worry if her evil father would show up or not, but Alex kept assuring her that he wouldn't.

"Wow, sick beach club we got here." Chris announced as they entered the place, which had many different cabana rooms, a bar, a recreation area, and of course, the beach itself. "I thought they only had these things in Beverly Hills."

"Nope, we have tons of these things here in Jersey." AJ smiled, linking her arm with Alex's. "But as long as I've been living here, I've never really been to this place before."

"Well, there's a first time for everything." Alex replied, looking around every which way.

"Wow, Alex, what's wrong with your neck? Trying to watch the imaginary ping-pong games?" Velvet asked with a smirk.

"No, Scary J. Blige, I'm just…trying to make sure that _he_ isn't here." he replied, turning around again.

"Alex, calm down. You were the one who told ME not to worry about him, and I'm sure that he won't show up. Now come on, let's go and meet the other guests." AJ announced, dragging him along.

Once they walked around the place, a four year old little girl ran up to AJ, smiling. "AJ, it's you, it's really you!" she exclaimed.

"Lydia!" she beamed, picking up her little cousin and wrapping her in a hug. "Aw, babe, it's been so long! How you been?"

"Fun! Mommy says that I get to go to Toys R Us later on if I behave like a good little girl!" she exclaimed.

"Well, you deserve it. Say, you wanna meet some new friends?" asked AJ.

"Kay!"

"Ok, here's my friend Velvet, my brother Chris, and my boyfriend Alex. Guys, this is my little cousin Lydia." she introduced.

"Hello, cutie pie!" Velvet exclaimed, smiling and waving.

"You look like a Barbie doll. Does that mean your hair, nails, and boobies are fake?" the four year old asked while Alex bursted out laughing and had to turn away, Chris smirked and stifled his laughter, and Velvet gasped. But being that a little girl was in front of her, she put on a smile and replied, "My my, aren't you a colorful one, heh heh."

"Come on, Lydia, be nice." AJ told her.

"Nice to meet ya, Lydia." Chris said, kneeling to her height.

"Hi, so since she's Barbie, are you Ken?" she asked. "Your eyes are pretty."

He smiled and replied, "Well, ladies always have been attracted to my beautiful blues, but I am nowhere near looking like Ken. For one thing, that plastic wannabe's 'package' down below is nowhere near as large as my 'package' down below is, if you know what I mean—"

"CHRIS!" AJ and Alex cried at the same time.

"Dude, she's a little girl, stop being inappropriate around her!" Alex snapped. "Nobody cares about your 'package'!"

"Says you! Try asking Velvet that and then see!"

The blonde blushed and turned around.

"What's his 'package'?" asked Lydia.

"The empty space in his head where his brain used to be." Alex answered while Chris shot him a look.

The little girl laughed. "You're funny!"

"Aw, well I try to be quite witty in what I say to other people." Shelley chuckled. "You're a funny little munchkin, too."

"I like you! PIGGYBACK!" she cheered, jumping onto his back while he was jerked forward and landed on his knees.  
"OOF! Whoa, uh, no piggyback right now, ok, honey?" he replied while AJ took her off of him.

"Cousin AJ, you said that he was your boyfriend. What's a boyfriend?" she asked.

"Well, um, a boyfriend is someone who's more than just a friend, and you just love spending all of your time with him, and you do just about everything with him. It's pretty much one step before getting married, I guess." the Diva explained.

"Oh! So does that mean you and Alex are getting married soon?" the little girl asked.

April and Alex exchanged shocked looks, not knowing how to reply. Finally, AJ told her, "Um…not for a while, sweetie. Neither of us are ready for that kind of a thing, right Alex?"

He nodded quickly. "Yep, she's right."

"Hmm…hey, can Alex be my boyfriend, too?" Lydia asked excitedly, before the others laughed.

"Ok, cuz, now you're pushing it. He's a little too old for you, and he's already taken, K, squirt?" AJ asked, smiling.

"Well, it IS possible to have two girlfriends. I mean, ask Chris over there, he's in love with two women." Alex announced.

"Quit broadcasting my personal life to the whole world, dumbass!" he snapped, annoyed.

"Hey, don't call me names, bunghole!" Alex argued.

"Uh, Lydia, why don't you go and greet the other guests, ok?" AJ said quickly, trying not to expose her to the violent name-calling.

"Good going, guys. Your fighting is scaring the children." Velvet announced.

"Your FACE is scaring the children, Creature!" Alex cried back.

"OH! You better leave me alone and—"

"Hey, Alex!" a voice called from a distance.

He turned around to find his parents, his sister Abby, his Gram Gram, and his cousin arrive.

"Hey, guys, you made it!" he exclaimed, exchanging hugs with everyone. "Cousin Dominic, where have you been for the last 3 years?"

His cousin, who was about Alex's height and was blonde and good looking, replied, "In and out of jail, caught Cousin Ronnie in there a few times, too."

"Aw dude, how the hell did Ronnie end back up in there?" Alex demanded.

"Public streaking."

"…Gross." the Detroit native replied.

Chris loudly cleared his throat. "Hi, Alex, remember us? We're your friends!" he cried sarcastically.

"Oh, right. Ma, dad, Abby, Gram Gram, you all remember Chris, and of course AJ." he introduced.

Velvet kicked him on the back of the leg.

"OW! Oh yeah, here's our pet Hyena." Alex announced, glaring at her.

She shoved past him and introduced, "Hello, my name is Jamie, but everyone calls me Velvet."

"Sounds like a porn star's name. I dig that." Dominic replied, smirking.

Chris stood behind her. "Yeah, did she mention that she's my girlfriend? No? Well, now you know." he said defensively.

Meanwhile, AJ exchanged hugs with the others.

"Thank you again for inviting us to this reunion, April." his mother Rachel said with a smile.

"No problem! Enjoy yourselves and have a good time!"

"We sure will! C'mon, gang, let's go and find her mother to thank her personally." his father Billy said, leading the gang away.

Dominic looked back towards Velvet, winked, and clicked his tongue towards her, before walking off with the others.

"Oh, my." the Knockout said, blushing.

In the meantime, Chris's eyes narrowed. "Competition, eh? She's mine." But his thoughts were interrupted once he felt a purse being whacked against his back. "OW! Gram Gram?"

"You're still nothing but a hoodlum! I don't know why Alex likes you so much, you're nothing but TROUBLE! My grandson deserves better than you, hey, you get back here when I'm talking to you, I'm not finished yet!" she rambled on while Chris had to run to get the hell away from this crazy woman.

"Well, so far, so good." AJ announced. "My cousin really likes you, everyone seems happy, and your grandmother is still attacking Chris."

"Which means that everything's as normal as normal should be." Alex chuckled, giving her a kiss.

"Hey, April!" called another voice.

"Who could that be—" she asked, turning around to see her military brother, who was smiling towards her. Shocked that he had come home, the tears were already springing into her eyes as she ran to wrap him in a huge hug. "Cristian! Oh, my God, you're back!" she began to cry. "I can't believe it…"

Her brother was about Alex's height as well, and had raven colored hair with a fairly muscular build. Not to mention that he was pretty good looking, too. "Believe it, little sis. Mom told me about the reunion and I just had to be here. Plus, I don't plan on leaving anytime soon."

She broke away from the hug and looked him in the eyes. "You aren't? Does—does this mean…?"

"Yep. I'm finally coming back home for good." he nodded.

She grinned brightly and cried harder, hugging him again. "Oh, this is the best news I've heard in so long! Oh my God, since you're here, I gotta introduce you to the friends that I've been writing to you about. Alex, come here!" she exclaimed, pulling him closer. "Cristian, this is my boyfriend Alex Shelley, Alex, this is my brother Cristian."

Now, there was no doubt that Alex was a little nervous about meeting him because he hoped that he wouldn't have a problem with him like her father did. Shaking the thought off, he held out his hand and said, "Hey, man, nice to finally meet ya. April's told me a lot about you."

"Alex…great to finally meet you face to face, too!" he exclaimed, shaking his hand in a tight, yet welcoming grip.

Alex's smile grew bigger, happy that he accepted him. AJ's smile echoed Alex's. "AJ's told me all about you too, and I've had the chance to see you in action before. Man, you and Chris's moves are insane in the ring!"

"You've watched us wrestle before?" he asked, pleasantly surprised.

"Of course, I've watched Monday Night RAW ever since I was a kid, man, I'm a wrestling freak just like my sister is!" he exclaimed.

"No kidding? Dude, I have a feeling that you and I are gonna get along great!" Shelley exclaimed back.

"Yeah, I think we will, too!" Cristian smiled.

"Yay." AJ cheered cutely.

Then, Alex's sister Abby approached him, saying, "Hey, moron, mom wants you to—"

She stopped once she locked eyes on Cristian, while he locked eyes on her.

"…Hi." she greeted, feeling herself blush.

"…Hi." he greeted back, turning a little red.

"Oh, well, well, well! Abby, this is my brother Cristian, and Cristian, this is Alex's sister Abby." AJ introduced.

"Hi." was all Abby could reply.

"Hi." was all Cristian could respond.

"…Okay, well, we'll leave you two alone to chat for a bit." AJ laughed, leading Alex away. "Well, how about that?"  
"Yeah, my sister likes your brother. Wait, if they ever get married, won't that make us…in-laws?" Alex asked, a little scared.

"Oh, I didn't think about that! Well…we'll just have to get married before they ever do, so that they have to deal with being in-laws." she smirked.

"Yeah. So…does this mean that we _are_ getting married one day?" he asked with a spark of hope.

The Diva smiled. "I'm not sure, Shells. I guess…never say never, right?" she asked nervously.

He nodded. "Never say never." he agreed, looking into her eyes before he leaned in to give her a kiss.

Soon enough, all of the guests had arrived and AJ's mother Lisa announced, "Hello, all and welcome to our family reunion!"

Everyone cheered.

"It's so nice to see old family members and some new friends around here, and I assure you that you are in for a fun-filled day, with games, a BBQ, and all that fun stuff! So everyone, sit back, relax, and enjoy the day!"

After she finished, AJ turned back to her boyfriend. "And without daddy dearest around, this day just may turn out perfect for everyone." she smiled, pulling Alex in for another kiss again.

But what neither of them saw was her father, Antonio, lurking in the distance and watching his daughter and the guy that he despised locking lips. Oh, Alex would have hell to pay. At least, that's what Antonio thought to himself.


	88. Chapter 88

**_AN: Holy $ !#, I can't believe I have around 200 reviews on this! I never thought this would ever happen, lol. Thanks a lot to you guys so far for all the support, you all rule! :)_  
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* * *

**Chapter 88**

So as the day went by, everyone seemed to be having a good time at the reunion, having fun and getting to know one another. When it was game time, Alex, Chris, Alex's cousin Dominic, and AJ's brother Cristian were all one team in a game of flag football against AJ, Alex's sister Abby, and two other girls. Velvet's leg wasn't totally healed yet, so she decided to be cheerleader. Since her cheerleading was loud and obnoxious and more like screeching, Alex got distracted, stopped to yell at her, and cost his team the win.

After that, AJ and Abby competed in the three legged race against Alex and Chris, in which the girls won again after the Guns had failed to communicate and ended up tripping over one another and nearly running themselves into the beach. And of course, Velvet just had to laugh at Alex's misfortune.

And later, Alex, Chris, AJ, Abby, and Cristian all teamed together to play tug of war against the rest of the family, and of course, they lost by a long shot, falling into the sand and laughing.

Now, the gang was sitting around a table, chatting it up…

"Oh come on, we totally kicked your asses in that game and you know it!" AJ exclaimed to her brother.

"Hey, don't blame me, blame my teammates for screwing me over!" Cristian laughed, while Chris and Alex exchanged shocked looks.

"Hey, don't blame us either, it was all Velvet's fault! Cristian, dude, I'm sorry that her hideous makeup had to distract you." Alex replied.

Velvet flashed him the finger and told his sister, "How can you stand having him as a brother?"

Abby shook her head. "I've managed to live with the moron all my life. He's annoying, but he's lovable either way." she smiled, wrapping an arm around Alex's neck in a headlock.

AJ laughed. "He IS lovable." she smiled along, hugging him.

Cristian smiled seeing his sister practically glowing, and said, "Hey, Alex, I never got to thank you for taking such good care of AJ. I don't think I've ever seen her so happy before."

"Of course, man, I love her to death." he nodded.

"And Chris, I gotta thank you for being her brother while I was away overseas. Ever since I left, I worried about who would be able to take my place and be there for her if she ever needed anyone." he continued.

"Hey, man, no thanks are necessary. You're her brother by blood, so nobody could ever take your place. I'm just happy to give AJ a shoulder to cry on or a helping hand if she ever needs one." Sabin replied.

"But most of all, dude, we all just have to thank you for serving in the military. What you've had to do on a daily basis is just amazing and we respect the hell outta you for that." Alex announced, while the others nodded along.

His expression dropped a bit. "Thanks, you guys, I really appreciate it, but to be honest, I never wanted to do it in the first place."

Now, the others grew quiet.

"What do you mean?" asked AJ.

"I didn't choose to be in the military, _hermanita_…I was forced to be in the military by good ol' pop." he revealed, while AJ's eyes grew wide.

Abby looked concerned as well. "What happened?"

"Well, all throughout middle school and high school, he had high expectations of me. Like, he wanted me to be the star of every sports team. And I tried out for everything possible, the basketball team, football, track, baseball…but whatever I tried, it still wasn't good enough for him. And even when it wasn't sports, he pressured me into being the star of the family and he wanted someone who he could be proud of. But apparently, I just couldn't live up to his expectations. Finally, he said that after I graduated high school, I was going to man up and join the military. We all tried to talk him out of it, but it was either that, or be kicked out of the house. So I had no choice but to go." he explained.

After hearing his story, AJ teared up while Alex slowly shook his head, knowing for sure that their parent was a complete and utter douchebag.

"Oh Cristian, I can't believe he'd send you away from home and send you overseas while you're risking your life! God, I can't believe that I'm related to him!" the Diva snapped.

"Hey, you shouldn't be surprised that he did something like that." Alex spoke up while the two turned to him. "I'm sure as hell not surprised."

"What do you mean?" asked Cristian.

"A few months ago, I came back over to your house to meet with your folks again. Now Lisa, she's awesome as usual, but your pop tried to separate April and I." he announced.

"What? Why would he do that?" her brother demanded.

"Get this – he didn't want her with me because I'm white." Shelley continued, while Cristian looked on wide eyed, and Abby looked genuinely shocked.

"…What?" she demanded, turning to her brother. "Alex, did he really say that to you?"

"Sure did. And that was only the beginning. He called me some harsh names, threatened me a few times, hired a fellow co-worker of mine who was Mexican and 'therefore suited better for her to be with'…all because I'm dating his daughter."

"Where is he? I want a word with him." Abby said, standing up. "Nobody disrespects my little brother like that and gets away with it."

"Abby, no." Cristian replied. "If anyone is to deal with him, I will. Alex, you make AJ happy, and you're already my friend for that alone. I won't let him get away with all the crap that he's put you through."

He nodded and smiled a little. "Thanks, man. At least not all of the male members of your family hate me."

"So uh, now what do we do?" asked Chris.

"I say we just stop talking about him. He's still not here, and we don't have to worry about him making our lives a living hell." AJ replied, trying to be optimistic. "Now c'mon, let's go and have some more fun!"

Once they all agreed to head off, AJ stopped Abby. "Hey, Abby?"

"Yeah?"

"Listen, after what you just heard, you don't hate me now, do you?" she asked, twiddling her fingers.

"What? AJ, why would I ever hate you?" she asked, surprised.

"Because! My father's making Alex's life miserable, and I feel somewhat responsible for it. I'd never want anything bad to happen to Alex."

"April, calm down. Your _father_ is the troublemaker here, AJ, not you. I know that you're looking out for my brother's best interests and I love you like a sister because of that. So don't ever think that I hate you because I don't."

She smiled and gave her a hug. "Great to hear. So, you wanna beat the boys in another round of flag football?"

"You read my mind, Crazy Chick!" she exclaimed, running off with the Diva.


	89. Chapter 89

**_AN: I love this chapter._  
**

* * *

**Chapter 89**

Later that day…

Velvet was sitting under a tree, stretching out her leg to make sure that it was healing properly. Then, Alex's cousin Dominic joined her.

"Hey, sexy babe. Whatcha doing?" he asked.

"Hey, Dom. I have to stretch out my bad leg for at least 30 minutes every day in order for it to get better more quickly." the blonde replied. "I totally want to get back into a wrestling ring as soon as possible."

"Oh, you're a wrestler, too?" he asked. "Gosh, I confused you for a model, or maybe even an angel!"

Velvet looked up at him and smiled. "Don't flatter me. I already have a boyfriend and he's on his way over here."

"Well, how could he leave someone as gorgeous as you all by herself?" asked Dominic.

She nodded. "Yeah, I don't deserve to be all by myself." she agreed with a pout.

"Well, I'll be more than happy to stay here with ya until you say otherwise. Besides, I know a great way to stretch out a bad leg that I learned in my tai chi class. Want me to show you?"

"Sure!" Velvet exclaimed.

He helped her up and then gently raised up her bad leg, saying, "See, this way will help alleviate the pain and straighten out your leg muscles."

Meanwhile, Chris was on his way to join her, but froze once he saw another man practically all over his girlfriend. And she looked like she was ENJOYING it. "Aw, hell no." Sabin muttered, rushing to them.

"Doesn't that feel good?" Dominic asked, not seeing Chris approach him from behind.

"Hey, uh, what the hell are you doing with my girlfriend?" he demanded.

"Oh hey, babe. He was just teaching me a new way to stretch out my bad leg!" Velvet said with a smile.

"Well, why is he holding you in such a sexual position? And why do you look like you're loving every minute of this?" Sabin demanded.

She turned around to face him. "Jeez, Chris, calm down. He's just helping me out."

"Yeah, Sab, you're my cousin's best friend, I'd never try to put the moves on your girl." Dominic agreed.

"Well…fine. Sorry I was freaking out." he apologized, crossing his arms.

"No problem! Now why don't I treat both you and your beautiful girlfriend to some drinks." he said, wrapping an arm around Velvet's shoulders while she giggled.

"Aw, you're too kind, Dom!" she exclaimed.

Chris decided to hang back a bit while he watched the two walk off together and imitated Velvet by saying, "'Aww, you're too KIND, Dom!' Ugh, I think I need to get drunk right about now."

* * *

In the meantime, Alex was off looking for AJ by the cabanas, when her little cousin Lydia ran up to him.

"Alex, Alex!" she exclaimed.

"Oh hey, munchkin, what's up?" he asked, smiling.

"I don't want to take a nap, so I want to play instead. Wanna play with me, Alex?" she asked excitedly.

"Uh, well, I might be a little too old to play with ya, Lyd, so I dunno—"

"PLAY WITH ME!" she snapped, dunking her hand into some red paint and then placing her red handprints all over his shirt.

He was speechless. "…That was my brand new shirt." he said in a small voice.

"You're so much fun, Alex, play with me, play with me, PLAY WITH ME!"

"ALL RIGHT!" he cried, before calming down. "All right. What do you want to do?"

"Piggyback."

"Aw, Lyd, not that again. Look, there are plenty of other things that we can do that don't invove—"

"PIGGYBACK!" she screamed, startling Alex.

"Ok, ok! I guess one little ride won't hurt." he sighed, bending over.

"YAY!" she cheered, roughly hopping onto his back to the point of him almost falling over, and he soon began to run off. He ran all over the beach, where other guests saw and began laughing, and then he ran in a circle around where Chris was. Surprised, he had to look again and smiled, amused. "Yeah, ride em, cowboy!" he cheered.

"Yay, woohoo, whee!" Lydia cheered.

Alex panted. "Shut up, Sabin." he uttered, before running towards one of the beach chairs and sitting her down. "Ok, let's give Alex a break, ok? Now, if you want to play something that won't hike up my blood pressure, how about Simon Says?" he asked her. "I'll be Simon. Simon says, hands on your hips."

"You said your name was Alex." Lydia said flatly.

"Yeah. But now, I'm Simon." he replied with a smile.

She frowned and placed her hands on her hips.

"Now, put your hands at your sides." he announced.

She did just that.

"Nope, you lose! Simon didn't say so."

"Sure you did, Simon!" Lydia exclaimed defiantly.

"I'm not Simon _now_." Alex argued back.

"Well then, who are you?...MOMMY, THERE'S A STRANGER TOUCHING ME!" she screamed.

Alex quickly calmed her down before anyone could find them. "Whoa, whoa, ok, calm down, munchkin! We'll play something else. Come on."

As he led her away, she chuckled evilly. "Hahahahaha…"

Later, they were back in one of the cabanas, having a tea party. It was only natural that Alex had felt extremely awkward through the whole ordeal.

She took a sip of her drink, and then violently spat it out. "This is JUICE! I don't want juice, I want orange soda!" she cried.

"Orange soda doesn't look anything like tea, though!" Alex argued. "And this is supposed to be a tea party!"

"I don't want a tea party, I want an orange soda party! If I don't get orange soda soon, I'm gonna cry. One, TWO…" Lydia began, getting ready to start the waterworks.

"Wait, WAIT!" Shelley stopped her. Then, he took out a paper swan. "Look, I made this paper swan during the plane ride here! I want you to have it.

Lydia grinned and snatched the paper animal. "Ooh, the pretty birdie! I wanna see if it can fly!"

Before Alex could stop her, she ran outside and tossed the paper swan outside, to where it landed on the beach. Then, somebody stepped onto it.

"NO!" Alex whined. "It took me 2 hours to make that!"

"Oops. Sorry." she said innocently.

Later…

"NO! Lydia, stop!" Alex cried, speeding back into the cabana room with different colors of paint all over his face and clothes. "Stop, PLEASE!"

"But I haven't finished your beauty makeover yet!" she exclaimed happily, holding up a paintbrush.

"But I don't need a makeover, I'm already beautiful! Look, Lyd, I'm pretty tired, and I'm sure that you're just as tired, too. So how about you take that nap right about now?" he asked. "Before I keel over and die?"

"Hmm…okay." she agreed, climbing into bed.

"Wow. That was easy." he said to himself. "Well uh, sweet dreams, little one."

"Alex, wait! Aren't you gonna tuck me in?" she asked.

"All right." he agreed, doing just that. Then, he looked over the little girl and smiled, not seeing that AJ just happened to be standing at the doorway and smiling at the scene. After all, seeing her boyfriend being so sweet with her little cousin was pretty heartwarming.

"You know, for a rebellious little tyke, you kind of remind me of myself when I was your age. Do you always drive your cousin April this crazy?" he asked with a chuckle.

"Sometimes." she giggled.

"Well, all I gotta say is keep on being a kid and enjoy yourself. I sure wish I was still one. Anyway, night night, Lyd."

She smiled and replied, "I love you, Alex, you're so much fun!"

Flattered, he smiled and kissed her forehead. "Aw, right back atcha, munchkin. I love you, too." he replied, making sure that she was asleep before he left. Once he exited the room, he was surprised to find AJ there, smiling. "Hey, babe, how long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough." she replied, wrapping him in a big hug, not caring that she was getting paint all over her clothes. She gave him a kiss.

"Wow, uh, what was that for?" Shelley asked, smiling back.

"Just cause." the Diva replied, taking his hand and leading him away.


	90. Chapter 90

**_AN: Here's a Cliffhanger Friday chapter._  
**

* * *

**Chapter 90**

Meanwhile, Velvet and Alex's cousin Dominic were still spending one hell of a lot of time together, while Chris was getting seriously fed up with it. And now, he tried looking everywhere for them, but couldn't find them anywhere.

"Vel!" he called. "Velvet, where the hell are you?"

No reply.

"Damn it, I can't believe that I have to freaking call you over the phone just to find you." he muttered, taking out his cell. Once he saw his background picture of Mickie, his features softened and he said to himself, "Oh, Mickie…I wish you were here. At least I wouldn't have to track you down cause I know that you'd stay by my side. I miss you so much, beautiful." Then, he slowly put his phone away, saying, "Wait, I shouldn't have to call Velvet to track her down. Hell, I'm her boyfriend, so she should be looking for ME! Unless…she's cheating on me again. Oh, hell no, not again." he muttered angrily, headed towards the cabanas next.

He opened one door, heard a startled scream, and quickly shut the door, shielding his eyes. "Oh my God, I am sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Shelley! Don't tell Alex that I almost walked in on you!" he called. He moved onto the next couple of rooms, but couldn't find anyone. Finally, he stopped at the last room to hear two voices saying,

"_Just like that, Velvet…now just hold that position while I grab you there."_

"_Ooh, Dom, I never knew you were such an expert on this kind of thing!"_

"_I've had plenty of experience. See, doesn't that feel good?"_

Chris's eyes widened and he forcefully kicked open the door, gasping once he saw his best friend's cousin bending over his girlfriend in a sexual position.

"Chris!" Velvet exclaimed, her eyes widening.

"What the HELL is going on in here?!" he demanded, looking between them both. "Somebody explain before I tear this place up!"

"Chris, calm down, it is not what it looks like." the blonde replied, stepping away from Dominic.

"Oh yeah? Then what the hell is this supposed to be?"

"Chris, listen to us before you start throwing accusations. I was just telling her about my tai kwon do training and she just wanted to learn a move! That's it!" Dominic explained.

"Ok, I may not know tai kwon do as much as the next guy, but I don't think bending someone over like that is any kind of move to begin with!" Chris argued. "And you two better stop whatever you're doing before I...I do SOMETHING!"

"Sab, just stop freaking out over nothing, ok?" Velvet said, taking his hands. "He was just teaching me a move, and he knows that I'm already taken by you."

"Besides, Sab, why would I want to hit on your girlfriend when I already have a girlfriend back at home?" asked Dominic.

He raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Your girlfriend back at home?"

"Yeah! She actually looks a lot like Velvet, so I just wanted to hang out with her for the day." he explained.

"Oh, uh, wow." Chris chuckled nervously. "This is embarrassing."

"So Chris, don't you have something to say to Dom?" asked the Knockout.

"Uh, yeah. Dom, buddy…I'm sorry I accused you of hitting on my girlfriend. And Velvet, I'm sorry I doubted you. Are we cool now?" the Detroit native asked, holding out his hand.

Dominic shook his hand and smiled, before Velvet gave her boyfriend a kiss.

"Ice cool. Now c'mon, let's see Gram Gram compete in the 50 yard dash!" Dominic exclaimed.

"Okay!" agreed Velvet.

"I just hope she doesn't beat me senseless with her purse again." Chris replied as they headed off. "What the hell does she have in that thing anyway, rocks?"

* * *

In the meantime, after putting AJ's little cousin down for a nap, Alex and the Diva had some much needed time alone and couldn't take their hands off of one another, sharing kisses every other second.

"Oh Shells, with or without paint splattered all over you, you are one sexy stud." AJ smiled, roaming her hands all over his chest.

"Oh yeah?" he asked with a lustful look in his eyes. "Well, you are the sexiest of the sexy to me."

"Am I?" she asked, wrapping him in another kiss.

"Hell yes." he uttered, kissing that sweet spot by her neck that turned her own.

"Oh God, Alex, we seriously need to find a room. Now!" she uttered back, roaming her hands across his back.

"Why?" he asked after a pause. "Let's just get down and dirty right out here."

She pulled away a bit to look him in the eyes. "Alex, we are not doing this in broad daylight where everyone can see us!"

"…Why not? Sounds exciting to me." the Detroit native replied with a smirk.

AJ playfully smacked his chest. "You're bad."

"Oh, I'm the worst." he agreed, wrapping his arms around her slim waist and pulling her into the nearest cabana room. Once he turned on the light, they were shocked to find that there were two people already in there. And those two people just happened to be…

"Abby?!" Alex demanded.

"Cristian?!" AJ cried, covering her mouth.

The two broke away from their steamy make out session and turned to find them, blushing and laughing.

"Uh, hey, little sis." Cristian chuckled, holding Abby in his lap.

"Alex, you moron, get outta here so your big sister can get some action around here." Abby said with a smirk.

"But I came in here to get some action!" Alex whined.

AJ laughed. "This is a revelation! So…how did…_this _occur?" she asked the other couple.

Cristian and Abby looked at one another.

"It just happened." he replied, still smiling.

"AJ, how could I resist him, he's hot!" Abby agreed.

"Well, I don't blame ya. How could I resist Alex for being so hot, too?" AJ nodded along. Well, uh, we will leave you two alone now so that you can resume your little make out party."

The two headed out, but Alex popped back in and told Cristian, "Oh yeah, and dude? A little word of advice: Try not to run your fingers through her hair because that cheap new shampoo that she bought this morning hardened her scalp and her hair is just…bleh."

"GET OUT!" Abby snapped, throwing a pillow at him while he laughed and ran out of the room.

He looked around for AJ, until he peeked into the cabana next to theirs to find the place empty. Suddenly, he was startled once AJ playfully shoved him into the room, saying, "What are you waiting for, Shells? Lock the door and start taking your clothes off."

Shelley chuckled and quickly locked the door, before playfully shoving her down on the bed and then hovering over her. He gazed down at the beauty below him before leaning down to give her a slow kiss, and then quickly whipped off his shirt. AJ got more turned on, seeing his chiseled chest and abs, reaching up to roam her hands over them, and then moved on to remove her shirt as well. Alex smiled at the sight before him, and he lowered his body down to hers, pinning her to the bed as they began a steamy make out session of their own.  
"God, April, I love you so much." Alex muttered between kisses.

"I love you too, Alex. So much." she replied, wanting him more than ever. "Oh, make love to me already, why don't you…"

"I'm gonna make you scream my name so loudly, they'll hear you in the next state." he smirked.

"Well, you better be true to your word." the Diva agreed, wrapping her legs around his waist, while he moved on to remove her bra.

Suddenly, the door burst open and none other than Antonio peered through, shocked at the sight before him.

The two quickly broke away when AJ screamed and pulled the blanket up to her chest and Alex sent a shocked look towards him.

"_Papi_?!" AJ cried in Spanish. Obviously, she rarely spoke in her native tongue unless she was truly stunned about something.

"…What the HELL is going on in here?!" Antonio demanded, looking right through AJ and straight towards Alex.


	91. Chapter 91

**_AN: Sorry for the wait in update, guys. _  
**

* * *

**Chapter 91**

"How the hell did you get in here?" AJ demanded to her father. "The door was locked!"

"I don't care that the door was locked, I am just glad that I came in here when I did. Now young lady, you put your clothes back on this instant!" demanded Antonio.

"No, why don't you get out of here?!" she demanded back, slipping her shirt back on. "You shouldn't even be at this party, nobody invited you!"

"I have been here the entire time. Neither of you've seen me, that's all." he said with a sadistic smirk. "And this scumbag here was about to rape you ,wasn't he? I'm going to kill him!"

AJ gasped while Alex stood up and said, "I would NEVER do anything like that to her! Get your facts straight, you son of a bitch!"

"He was not going to rape me, we were about to make love and I WANTED him to!" AJ added, purposely trying to rile him up. "And FYI, we've done it TONS of times. While we were on the road, at our place back in Detroit…see, I love Alex so much, that I lost my virginity to him."

He snarled and balled his hands into fists.

"And there is nothing that you could do to break us apart. Nothing." she finished in a whisper.

Antonio ignored her and then turned to Alex. "I know what you have done to Alberto a few weeks ago."

"Oh, you mean back at Summerslam when I kicked his ass and lifted him 20 feet in the air with a forklift?" Shelley asked, smiling at the memory. "That was awesome."

Antonio was not amused. "I've told you once that if you had interfered in April's wedding to Alberto, I would make you pay for it. And I intend on keeping my promise." he said threateningly, cracking his knuckles.

Alex nodded at this and stepped up to him. "Bring it on, man, I'm ready for what you got."

"Alex, no, don't do this…" AJ began.

"AJ, I don't want you to see this, you gotta get out of the room for a while." he told her.

"Alex, I'm not leaving you in here with him! C'mon, let's just get out of here!" the Diva cried, taking him by the arm, but they didn't get a chance to leave once Antonio pulled Shelley back into the room and sent a rough punch across his face, while AJ screamed, "Stop it, you're hurting him!"

Alex stumbled back up and cried, "That all you got, you son of a bitch?! HUH?!" before kicking him in the shin and then clocking him across the face in retaliation.

Antonio yelled out something in Spanish before bringing a knee to the younger man's abdomen, knocking the wind out of him.

AJ rushed to her boyfriend. "ALEX! Oh my God, are you ok? I gotta get you out of here!" she cried, helping him up.

Antonio paid AJ no mind as he shoved her aside to get back to Alex. He shoved him against a wall and began continuously ramming his knee into the Detroit native's midsection, before grabbing Alex's arm and twisting it back.

He screamed out in pain, trying to fight the older man off of him, while Antonio spat, "I will DESTROY you! You disrespectful little bastard, I'm gonna kill you!"

AJ was horrified upon seeing her father beating up her boyfriend, and decided that she had to do something. She ran up to them and tried to pry Antonio off of Alex. "Get OFF of him!" she snapped.

"GET out of my way!" Antonio snapped back, forcefully shoving her back to where she fell to the floor.

"APRIL!" Alex cried, trying to reach her, but couldn't once Antonio resumed attacking him.

Cristian and Abby weren't too far from where they were and heard all of the screaming, and ran to their cabana to find the scene.

"Oh my God, ALEX!" Abby cried, worried for her brother.

"April, what's going on here, are you all right?" Cristian asked his sister.

"Dad shoved me to the ground and he won't stop hurting Alex, Cristian, you gotta do something, please!" she exclaimed quickly and tearfully.

He gave her a quick nod and then used his strength to pry his father off of Alex, who Abby quickly pulled away to safety.

He coughed a few times as his sister held him tight and asked, "Alex, bro, are you ok?"

Alex nodded. "I'm fine, I'm fine, but I am going to KILL HIM!" he screamed, wanting to attack him again. Abby had to hold him back while Cristian held his fuming father back.

"You STAY away from my daughter!" he yelled.

"Dad, what the HELL is wrong with you?!" Cristian demanded, shoving him back. "Leave him alone! And did you really just shove AJ to the floor?"

"It was an accident, she was in my way!" he argued back. "I do not want her with him, he is not one of us!"

"You know what, you're just sick!" Abby snapped, holding Alex back. "Attacking somebody smaller than you, I can have you arrested for assault!"

"Not before I kill him first, LET ME AT HIM!" Alex snapped.

"Forget about him, baby, you've got a bruise on your cheek, let's get you out of here." AJ replied while she and Abby led him out of the room.

Meanwhile, Cristian was left standing there, glaring at his father.

"WHAT?!" Antonio snapped. "I am only doing what is good for both you and April!"

In reply, he slowly shook his head and joined the others outside.

"Wait, wait, don't you walk out on me, I am not finished with you!" he cried, storming after him.

Outside, Mr. and Mrs. Shelley were walking out when they saw Alex, Abby, and AJ approaching them.

"Hey, kids, how you enjoying the reunion?" Rachel asked, smiling.

But once they began to see Alex's bruises up close, their smiles immediately faded.

"Alex!" she gasped, rushing to him.

"Son, what the hell happened to you?" Billy asked. "Did you get yourself into another fight again?"

Before Alex could answer for himself, Abby spoke up for him. "Mom, dad, AJ's crazy father was attacking Alex!"

"_What?_!" they demanded, exchanging shocked looks.

"It's true, Cristian and I heard screaming and we ran in to find him all over Alex!" she cried.

"Oh, my precious baby doll, are you all right?" Rachel asked, wrapping him in a tight hug.

Alex nodded and replied, "Ma, I'm fine. I've taken worse beatings than this."

"Where is this guy? Nobody puts their hands on my son and walks away breathing." Billy said, rushing ahead, but stopped once he saw Antonio headed their way. "You STAY AWAY from my daughter!" he called.

"Are you the one who attacked my son?" Billy demanded, approaching him.

"Oh, is he your son? Well, you keep control of him and keep him where he belongs with your people!" he cried back.

His eyes widened as he repeated, "Our PEOPLE?! What the hell kind of crack is that supposed to be?"

"I hate your son, and you need to keep him away from my daughter because she needs to be with someone who is Spanish, not white." replied Antonio.

"Oh yeah? Yeah? That's the craziest, most ignorant thing I've ever heard! And you're nothing but a bigoted MORON!" Billy snapped. "You lay a hand on my son again, and I'll personally kill you."

AJ's mother Lisa caught the dispute and joined them, gasping once she saw her crazy husband there. "Antonio? How did you get here and what's going on?"

"Mom, he attacked Alex." AJ said, wiping away a few tears.

"…WHAT?!" she demanded.

"Lisa, is this your husband?" Billy demanded. "I'm about to call 911 on his ass for what he did to my son!"

"Lisa, that PUNK was about to RAPE my daughter!" Antonio snapped back.

"NO, I WASN'T!" Alex shouted, pissed to the point of no return.

"Alex would never do anything to hurt me, mom, you gotta believe us." AJ agreed.

She nodded. "I do believe you."

"Lisa!" Antonio cried.

"You are so wrong. Guys, I am so sorry about him, and Alex, please let me clean up your bruises, ok?" AJ's mother asked.

He nodded. "Ok, thanks, Lisa."

"I'm gonna KILL you if you ever lay a hand on Alex again!" Billy snapped to Antonio.

"Pop, just sit down and calm down somewhere, ok?" Abby asked, leading him away. "Alex is going to be fine."

Then to make a point, Cristian grabbed Abby's hand and then approached his father. He saw this and grew even angrier. "Cristian, do not TELL me that you're following your sister's example!" he snapped.

"I like Abby, dad. And I'm a grown man, so I really don't care what you have to say about her. She may not be Spanish, but I don't care, I like her for her. And I intend on getting to know her. If AJ and Alex could do it, then so can I." he explained, while Abby smiled at him.

AJ smiled a little at this as her brother sent her a wink.

"Fine, then. You are no better than April is. I disowned her for disobeying me, and I'll disown you, too. You have always been nothing but a failure." Antonio retorted, while Cristian was, without a doubt, upset.

"Don't you dare talk to him that way after everything you put him through!" AJ exclaimed.

"AJ's right. He risked his life overseas and you call him a failure? Cristian's a hero. And if you don't see that, then you're blind." Abby agreed, lightly tugging Cristian's hand. "Let's get away from this guy."

He nodded and turned back to Antonio before saying, "Any little piece of respect that I ever had for you, _padre,_ it's gone now."


	92. Chapter 92

**Chapter 92**

Once Antonio glared at Cristian before shooting AJ a look, he headed off while the tiny Diva sniffled.

Alex's mother comforted her by wrapping her in a hug. "You gonna be ok, angel?"

"No." she began to cry. "Ma'am, I am so sorry about him. I tried to stop him from hurting Alex, but he was just too strong."

"Hey, hey, none of this was your fault, sweetheart. I'm just sorry that you have to have a parent like him."

"I'm sorry, too." she agreed. "Y'know, I'm just so happy that you guys are so understanding and haven't shunned me out of your family for this, and I'm really happy that Alex still loves me despite everything that's happened."

Rachel wrapped an arm around the Diva, leading her to a private spot on the beach. "Well, honey, Alex is the kind of person who would never turn his back on the people he cares about the most, and seeing as how he never stops talking or thinking about you, I can say that you've been the light of his life ever since the beginning." she told her while AJ smiled back. "Actually, I've wanted to talk to you alone because I want to give you something."

"A restraining order?" AJ joked in a tiny voice.

Rachel laughed. "Of course not! I want you to have this." she announced, handing her a silver ring.

"Wha—What's this for?" she asked, surprised.

"It belonged to Alex's uncle, who served in the Vietnam War." she announced while AJ's eyes grew wide. "See, this ring was given to him by his fiancée at the time and they planned to get married a day before he was deployed. They had a beautiful wedding, one that neither of them would ever forget. But the next day, he had to leave, and his wife was waiting anxiously for the day that he'd come back to her. But the days turned into weeks, and the weeks turned into months before she had heard of any sign from him. Then one day, this very ring came back to her in the mail. It turns out that he was killed in a plane crash, just one day before he was supposed to come back to her. The ring was the only reminder of him that she had left." she explained, while the tears were streaming down AJ's face.

She let out a sob. "Oh my God, this is the saddest story that I've ever heard!" she exclaimed. "I can't accept a ring this special. It's too precious."

"No, no, darling, I want you to have it to give to Alex one day." Rachel replied. "Your love with him reminds me of the love that his uncle and his wife used to share, and I think that he'd want his nephew to take it off of his hands."

AJ sniffled. "A-Are you sure?"

"If I didn't believe that you were the one meant for my Alexander, I wouldn't do this. When the time's right, give this to him. Coming from you, it'll be even more special to him." she replied, placing the ring in her palm. "Angel, what I'm saying is that Alex's uncle and his wife never got a chance to live the rest of their lives together, and I want you and Alex to one day have that chance that he never got to have. Ok?"

She nodded, wiping away her tears. "Ok. I promise that I'll guard this ring with my life until I do give it to Alex. Thank you so much for trusting me with something this big, Mrs. Shelley." AJ said, giving her a hug while she hugged her back.

"You two deserve it, sweetie. And please, call me Rachel!" she chuckled.

She giggled along. "Ok, thanks, Rachel!"

* * *

Inside of one of the cabanas, AJ's mother was cleaning up Alex's bruises…

"Luckily he didn't hurt you any worse, so hopefully you won't be sporting this bruised cheek for too long." she said, placing an ice pack on the side of his face.

Alex smiled a little. "Well, I have been known as a trendsetter, so maybe I can sport this bruise as the new 'look' of the locker room, if you know what I mean." he joked.

She laughed. "Oh, Alex, you are something else! But still, I am so sorry for what Antonio did to you. I had no idea he was even here. In fact, I didn't tell him about the reunion because I didn't want him to show up and cause any trouble. Too late for that, though."

"Hey, Lisa, you don't have to apologize for his ignorance. He may be nothing but a jerk, but what really matters to me is that you've accepted me with open arms, and I think you're awesome for that." Shelley replied. "But there's been one thing that I've always wondered."

"What's that?"

"Why are you still with this guy if he mistreats you guys so badly? You and April and Cristian are the best, and I don't think that any of you deserve whatever he's been putting you all through." the Detroit native replied.

"I…I don't know why I'm still with him. I mean, he was never like this when I married him, but after we had April and Cristian, he's just…changed into someone else completely. I don't even know if I should love him anymore, but the thing is, I don't want to end up alone if we divorce. What if he decides to take the house and gets custody of the kids?" asked Lisa.

"Hey, AJ and Cristian are grown adults, they aren't going to be placed in a custody battle. And even if you lose your house because of him, I could just talk to my folks and they'll be more than happy to let you live with them until you can get back on your feet again." Alex replied.

"Oh, _mijo_, are you sure?" she asked, smiling.

"Of course! Anything for the mother of the woman that I love." he nodded.

She teared up and gave him a hug, saying, "Alex, you are an angel for this, thank you! And I also want to thank you for making April so happy. In the 25 years that I've known her, I have never seen her smiling so much before. So because of that, I want to give you something important."

"Sure, what is it?"

She took out a silver ring with an aquamarine set of diamonds in the center, while Alex's eyes widened a little.  
"Wow, it's…it's beautiful." he announced in awe.

"It is, isn't it? This ring actually belonged to April's great grandmother, and from what I've been told was that she and her husband had the love of a lifetime! They would both go to the ends of the earth for one another, and their love just reminds me of the love that you guys have. And what makes this ring extremely special is that her great grandparents have been married for over 75 years, until they both passed on just a few years ago." she explained while Alex could really feel himself getting a bit emotional. "Alex, I want you to give this ring to my daughter one day, and I want her to know how special it really is coming from you, the man that she's madly in love with. I think you guys make a beautiful pair."

She placed the ring in his palm before he held it tightly. Finally, he smiled and replied, "You have my word, Lisa. I can't thank you enough for trusting me with something this special, and I promise that I'll guard this ring with my life. I just can't wait to see the look on April's face once I give it to her!"

"She will be stoked!" her mother agreed, wrapping him in another hug while he hugged her in return. "Now you promise me again that you'll give this ring to her!"

"Scout's honor!" he agreed, laughing.


	93. Chapter 93

**Chapter 93**

So after the family reunion had ended, another Monday had rolled around and everyone was back to work. Both AJ and Alex were happy to have been placed with the honor of keeping their respective rings to one day give to one another, but neither of them knew exactly _when _they'd exchange those rings. Aside from that, though, everyone returned on a pretty good mood.

Now, AJ was walking down the hall, but her smile soon faded once she caught a glance at Mickie, who glared back at her and quickened her pace down the hall, with her Women's title slung over her shoulder. The tiny Diva had to look back for a second, but was snapped out of it once Britani and Kaitlyn rushed to her.

"Hey, you guys!" AJ exclaimed, wrapping them in a double hug. "I missed you!"

"We missed you, too! And guess what? We have some great news to tell you!" Kaitlyn exclaimed.

"What's up?"

"While you guys were out for the reunion, Mickie and Jericho had the nerve to throw themselves some kind of championship party after she won the Women's title. Crazy, right?" asked Britani.

"Wow, a party to celebrate the way she screwed me over, huh? Figures." AJ sighed. "Anyway, what happened?"

"Well, me, Katie, and Punk were all still pissed at her for everything, so we thought that the perfect revenge was to crash their party!" the British Diva exclaimed while AJ lit up.

"Yeah, after Jericho wheeled out this huge cake for Mickie, Punk popped out of the cake and started a food fight with everyone there." Kaitlyn chimed in. "Oh my God, you should've been there, cake and wine was flying everywhere, and uh, most of it was all over Mickie and Jericho."

AJ laughed. "Oh girls, you did all of that for me?"

"Of course. That was YOUR title that Mickie had stolen from you, and we figured that we should just show her the costs of her actions." replied Britani. "We just hoped that we'd help you to feel just a little bit better."

She nodded. "I do, girls, thank you. Now I just hope that Mickie feels as bad as she made me feel." she agreed, leading them into the women's locker room. "So, you wanna hear about the reunion?"

"Yeah!"

"Well, for the most part it went great! We all had a lotta fun…until Daddy Dearest showed up and attacked Alex."

"HE was there?" Kaitlyn asked, surprised. "I thought your mom didn't invite him."

"She didn't. Girls, it was a total disaster. Alex's dad found out and wanted to fight mine, my brother was trying to separate them, it was just chaos."

"Oh my goodness." Britani replied. "Did anyone end up going to jail?"

"I think my dad was arrested but they let him out a couple of hours later." she shook her head. "I'm just so sick and tired of him making mine and Alex's lives miserable. BUT, one good thing did come out of that reunion."

"What?!" they exclaimed.

She smiled and took out the silver ring that Rachel had given her, and they gasped.

"April, spill immediately, I need to know the details of whatever you're trying to tell us!" the blonde cried.

"Ok, ok! Alex's mom took me aside and pretty much mentioned how she thought that Alex and I belonged together, and she gave me this ring to give to him one day." she said with a smile.

Britani and Kaitlyn exchanged smiles and they exclaimed, "Does this mean that you're getting _married_?!"

The tiny Diva blushed. "Girls, it's too soon! But I know one thing – I'd love to make Alex my husband one day."

* * *

Meanwhile, Alex, Chris, and CM Punk were in the Guns' locker room, informing the Straightedge Superstar about the reunion…

"So you thought that Velvet was cheating on you with Alex's cousin?" Punk asked with an amused smirk.

Chris pouted. "Well…well, with him teaching her all of that tai chi and tai kwon do stuff and holding her in such sexual positions, how could I think any other way? Plus, Velvet's cheated on me before when we first started dating years ago, so sometimes I can't help but to think."

"Wait, I thought you two broke up the first time because you two ACCUSED one another of cheating." Alex said.

"We did, but there was this one instance where she had a one night stand with Austin Aries. After she told me, I couldn't face either of them for months, but I eventually forgave her." replied Sabin.

"That's rough, dude, but now isn't it ironic that you did the exact same thing to Mickie to land you BACK with Velvet right now?" asked Punk. "Jeez, this is like some crazy, jacked up version of 90210."

Chris shot him a look. "You know, analyzing my screwed up love life isn't helping me one bit, Punk. Thanks."

"You're welcome! So, how'd the reunion go for you, Shelley?" asked the tattooed man.

"Well, it was interesting, I'll tell you that. I played babysitter for April's little cousin, learned that my sister and her brother hooked up, and uh, we ran into April's bastard padre again." he replied.

"Oh no. He didn't start any more crap with you guys, did he?" he asked.

"Oh, you should've been there, man. He caught April and I about to have sex, he started freaking out and then attacked me – hence the bruise on my face – my sister and her brother came in to pry him off of me, my pop and her pop began a shouting match and it was just a mess." Alex explained, shaking his head.

Punk whistled. "Damn, when will this guy get a clue that you and AJ belong together?" he asked. "I mean, come on!"

"Try telling him that! But the only good in all of this, was when April's mom gave me this." Shelley announced, taking out the diamond ring.

Chris and Punk's eyes widened. "Dude!" they cried at once.

"Alex, you never told me about this!" Sabin replied.

"Well, I was going to keep this to myself, but just promise to keep this between the three of us, all right?" he asked. "Whatever you do, don't tell ANYONE, especially April. Ok?"

"Cross our hearts. Now what's this about?" asked CM.

"Well, basically, she told me how this ring belonged to her great grandmother and how our love is reminiscent of the love that her great grandparents shared. They were together for over 75 years, after all." he explained.

"Oh wow." Chris replied, interested.

"And uh, Lisa wanted me to give this ring to April one day because she knew that we belonged together." he finished.

"Oh, young Alex, do I hear wedding bells in your future?" Punk asked, smiling along with Chris.

"I get to be Best Man." Sabin chimed in.

"Guys, guys, she and I are nowhere near ready to get married yet!...But when the time does come, I'll definitely be ready to slip this beautiful ring onto her finger."

"Aw, you big softie!" Chris laughed, wrapping an arm around his friend's shoulders.

"Well, come on, guys, we gotta get ready for our tag match in a few. And Alex, we're not letting this subject go until you make a decision." Punk replied as the three headed out of the room.

Once they had left, though, they didn't see Eve lurking by their door, overhearing the boys' conversation with a new idea in mind. "Hmm." she began, stepping into the room and picking up the ring that Alex had placed in his bag. "Can't have a wedding without a wedding ring." she smirked. Then, she took out some paper and jotted something down. "I better leave him my calling card if he ever wants to find this thing again."

* * *

Later, the boys had won their match, and were on their way back to the locker room…

"Ah, another night, another match won. You know, Punk, you need to be made an honorary member of the Machine Guns." Alex announced.

"Yeah, as long as you don't try and make me feel bad about my love life, then I agree." added Chris.

"That sounds like an interesting offer, I'll think about it!" Punk exclaimed, grabbing his bags. "Anyhoo, I'll see you guys later, gotta get showered up and then I gotta find Britani."

"Coolio—Tell her we said hi!" the Guns replied.

While Alex was packing up his things, Chris noticed the note first. "Hey, Alex? What's with the note, and most importantly, where the hell's your ring?"

He quickly looked around to find that it was indeed missing. "Oh man, are you KIDDING me?!" he demanded.

"Read the note." replied Sabin.

Alex picked it up and read, "'Dear Alex, I know that you're probably missing your precious ring right now. Well, luckily for you, I have it. If you want it back, come to Johnny's office right away. Kiss kiss, love Eve.'" he finished. "That bitch."

"Dude, you know that this is some kind of trick. What, she just expects you to walk into his office and grab the ring back that easily? There's more to this, and I'm coming with you." Chris announced.

"Sab, I appreciate it, but no. I gotta do this alone."

"Dude—"

"Chris, if this really is a trick, I'm sure they only want me in there alone. If any crap goes down, I'll just handle it myself, ok? Trust me on this." Alex replied.

"…All right. Well, I'll be back at the hotel soon, so you just watch yourself." Sabin replied, sharing a manly handshake with him before heading off to the showers.

"Yep." Alex agreed quietly, looking over the note one more time.

Soon enough, he stopped outside Johnny's office and sighed before coming in. "Hello?" he called. "If anyone's in here playing stupid tricks, knock it off right now because all I want is my ring back!"

Eve soon turned around to face Alex in Laurinitis's swivel chair, with a seductive smile on her face. "Hi, Alex. Glad you could make it."

"Can we skip the crap so that you can just give me the ring back?" he demanded.

"Jeez, Alex! Aren't you happy to see me?" the Latina asked.

"As happy as I am to see any prostitute standing on the street corners." he said sarcastically. "You know, like you."

She shook off his comment and continued, "Fine, we'll just get to the point. I'll give you this ring back…on one condition."

"Name it."

"Sleep with me." she announced.

Alex paled for a moment and chuckled lightly. "Uh, yeah, I didn't quite catch that. Just WHAT the hell did you say?!"

"You heard me. You'll get this ring back if you sleep with me." she smiled. "Don't resist, Alex, you know you want to."

"Okay, are you really that stupid? I am madly in love with my girlfriend, and the last thing that I'll ever do is cheat on her! In fact, I'd—I'd rather be buried alive than be in the same bed AS you! I'm not catching whatever diseases you're probably carrying." Shelley replied.

Eve frowned at this and stood up to face him. "How dare you disrespect me, Alex? I am offering you a great deal, and if you say yes, I'll give you back this ring! Simple as that!"

"The hell you will, GIVE ME THAT RING!" Alex shouted, grabbing her wrist and trying to wrestle the ring from her.

"No, it's MINE!" Eve screamed back, trying to wrestle it from him.

"Give…it…BACK!" Alex snapped, but once he held Eve in a pretty compromising position, she suddenly called,

"NOW!"

Alex looked at her, confused, when Alberto Del Rio suddenly ran out from the back of the room and took a few pictures of Alex holding Eve 'romantically' in his arms. He laughed and hurried away, and Alex was pissed.

"Hey, you son of a bitch, get back here!" he yelled, running after him, but he was already gone. "Shit!"

Eve giggled gleefully and tossed the ring back to Alex, to where he caught it. She called to him, "Ok, you can have the ring back, Alex. But you know…you might not need that ring after all, because once AJ sees the pictures of you holding me in such a loving way, she won't want anything to do with you anymore. Toodles!"

Once she left, Alex snarled and yelled after her, "You BITCH!"


	94. Chapter 94

**Chapter 94**

Meanwhile, Mickie was still angry about the disaster that had occurred at her Championship celebration party, and was mulling around in Jericho's locker room, protectively clutching her title.

"The nerve of them. The nerve of ALL of them!" she muttered.

Chris sighed. "Mickie, just let it go. The party came and gone, so it's over and done with. Just move on from it."

She shot him a look. "Chris, I just can't 'let it go'! Punk, Britani, and Kaitlyn CRASHED the party and threw cake and sprayed wine at the both of us! I-I can't believe you're taking this so lightly!"

"I'm not taking anything lightly, Mickie! Look, I'm just as pissed with them for what they did, but instead of sulking over it, I'm planning on getting them all back! Now I don't know how, but trust me, I'm Y2J and I'll get things done." he replied, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"I still don't deserve to be treated like this." Mickie replied, wiping away a tear. "I've never been more humiliated in my life."

"Oh come on, Mickie, give me a little credit here! I threw this party for you! I had no idea that they were going to show up! Babe, I was just trying to do something nice for you." he argued. Then, his features softened and he kneeled down to meet her height. "Hey, look at me. Things may seem bad now, but trust me. Things are gonna get better."

The Country Diva smirked and shook her head, skeptical. "Not soon enough." she replied in a whisper. "Look, Chris, I gotta walk around on my own for a bit, so I'll see you later, ok?"

He nodded and placed his hands on her shoulders. "All right. You sure you're ok?"

"I'm fine." she replied, not looking back at him before heading out into the hall.

In the meantime…

"We totally need to plan another Girls' night out really soon." Kaitlyn announced.

"True, true! And you know what else we need to do really soon?" asked Britani.

"What?"

"Find you a boyfriend! Isn't it obvious?" AJ smiled. "Whenever we all hang out, it's me and Alex, Britani and Punk, and now you need someone so you don't feel left out!"

"Girls, no. I really appreciate the concern, but I'm perfectly fine with being single." the blonde replied, shaking her head.

"Aw, but don't you want someone to compliment you on how you look and someone who does nice things for you?" asked Britani. "It's fuuuuunnnnn…"

"I have you guys for that!" she exclaimed, smiling.

"How about a boy toy who you can have as your personal eye candy and stare at for hours on end?" AJ asked, smirking. "And we don't fit the bill for that."

She laughed. "Touché. Look, we need to stop worrying about me and worry about the fact that you're holding Alex's potential wedding ring in the palm of your hand!"

"Girls, listen. I love Alex to death, but neither of us are anywhere near ready for marriage, all right?" she asked when they walked back into the Diva's locker room. "For now, we'll—"

She froze in mid sentence once she and her friends saw pictures of Alex holding Eve in his arms all over the walls.

"What the…" Britani began.

AJ grew silent and snatched one of the pictures, and seeing the man that she loved holding her enemy in such a compromising position no doubt made her heart sink, but then she shook it off. "No. No way, this isn't real. Alex…Alex would never do this to me. He—he hates Eve just as much as I do, he'd never…I know him, he wouldn't do this to me." she rambled on, trying to convince herself that the picture that she was holding wasn't for real. Kaitlyn looked on.

"I'd hate to stir the pot, but…it does look pretty legit." she said slowly.

"But it's not!" the Diva argued. "Alex loves me!"

"Katie, just help me take all of these pictures down before anyone sees, all right?" Britani announced, doing just that.

Then, once AJ turned around to face the door, she just happened to see Mickie walking by, with her title in tow. The tiny Diva's eyes narrowed and she called, "You. YOU did this!"

Mickie stopped and gave them all a look. "What? What the hell are you talking about?"

"Don't act like you don't know. Since you crossed to the dark side all of a sudden, you took pictures of Alex holding Eve and posted them all in here just to piss me off AND to ruin my relationship, didn't you?!" AJ demanded.

"Look, I didn't—" Mickie began. But although she really didn't do anything, a smirk grew on her face once she realized that she could use this chance to get the upper hand on her ex best friend once again, and to make her angry. She lied and finished with a smirk, "…Ok, you got me. I posted ALL of those pictures on the wall."

AJ slowly shook her head, balling her fists.

"But I only did it to prove a point. You can't have everything, Princess, and now I've taken your title, the top spot in the Women's Division, and now I've caught Alex in the act. Sorry that everything had to come crumbling down on you so hard, but that's life." the Country Diva replied, serious.

"Mickie, why do you hate me so much?" AJ demanded, both angry and hurt at the same time. "I never did anything to you but be your best friend!"

Mickie knew on the inside that she could never hate AJ, but her words were really getting to her, evident by the hurt look that she had given back to the Diva.

"I tried to get you back together with Chris, knowing how much you loved him, and how much you probably STILL love him, and after all of that, after everything I did for you, you decide to stab me in the back? I don't even know you anymore." the tiny Diva finished, crossing her arms.

Mickie was about to say something, but Britani cut her off. "No, Mickie, we don't want to hear it. And frankly, all you've become lately is a total bitch."

The Country Diva was even more hurt than before, but decided to say nothing and stormed off. AJ was still looking in Mickie's direction, when Kaitlyn pulled her away and said, "Forget about her, AJ. C'mon, we gotta take these pictures off of the wall."

And as they began to do that, Eve had brought Beth Phoenix along to watch the scene from the doorway.

"Wow, I'm impressed, Eve!" Beth exclaimed. "Who knew that one little picture could cause such a mess?"

"Well, they say that a picture's worth a thousand words!" the Latina replied, filing her nails. "See, Bethy, the beauty in all of this, is that our plan's working, and we don't even have to do anything! Those girls are all pitted against one another, which leaves them no room for them to suspect that we did a damn thing."

"You're good!" Beth smiled, slapping her hand.

Natalya had overheard this, and shook her head in shame towards the two before heading off. How cruel could two people be for trying to break up a friendship as tight as Mickie and AJ's?


	95. Chapter 95

**Chapter 95**

After the show, everyone headed back to the hotel for the night. While Alex was driving both he and AJ back, though, he was very concerned at the fact that she had seemed extremely bummed out and hadn't said a word to him. AJ still clutched the picture of him and Eve in her hand and didn't want to show Alex until they were back home. She couldn't believe the picture was true, but she still couldn't help but to think. Alex, on the other hand wasn't feeling too great himself because of the picture that he took with Eve, and didn't know whether or not he should even tell AJ or not. Finally, the two ended up in their hotel room…

The Diva carelessly threw her jacket onto the bed and grabbed one of her comic books, flopping down onto the bed.

Alex saw this and spoke up first. "April, we need to talk."

"I agree." she said flatly.

"Ok, well, why were you so quiet on the car ride back? Did someone back there bother you or something?" he asked, sitting next to her.

"Yes and no." she answered with a sigh. "Alex, it's hard to describe how much it hurts to walk into a room and find a truckload of pictures of your boyfriend holding your worst enemy in his arms, posted all over the wall for everyone to see."

"What do you mean?" he asked quietly.

She whipped out the picture and handed it to him. "Explain this, Alex."

He saw the image of him 'holding' Eve and sighed. "April, you gotta hear me out here, this was a big misunderstanding." he explained, while all of her attention was on him. "Earlier, Chris, Punk, and I headed out for our match, and when we came back, I found that my wallet was missing," he paused, knowing that he couldn't tell her that he was off to find her ring. "And apparently Eve had left me this note saying that I had to come to Johnny's office to get it back. Long story short, she said that she wouldn't give me the wallet back unless I had slept with her."

AJ gasped. "_WHAT?"_

"BUT, I told her that I am madly in love with you, and that I'd rather be buried alive than to be in the same bed as that disease carrying slut." he finished, making her feel a little better. "So I tried to fight her for the wallet, and all of a sudden, Del Rio comes in, takes a picture of me trying to wrestle the wallet away from her, and THAT's what made the picture look like I was holding her, but baby, I totally wasn't." he finished, taking her hands. "April, Eve led me on and she failed because you KNOW that you're my one and only. Right?"

She nodded, suddenly feeling guilty of accusing him. "Yeah. So…Mickie didn't really do anything." she said quietly.

"What does Mickie have to do with this?" he asked.

"Forget it, it's not a big deal." AJ replied. "But anyway, I should've known that you'd never cheat on me. Oh Alex, I am so sorry for accusing you. Forgive me?" she asked innocently.

The Detroit native smiled and as a reply, leaned down to wrap her in a slow, yet convincingly good kiss. "There's your answer." Shelley replied.

She giggled. "I love your answer. And I love you."

"I love you too, Crazy Chick." he replied with a chuckle. "C'mon, let me take you out for a while. On the way here, I saw this arcade that we just HAVE to go to."

"Oh yay! That means I get to beat you in pac-man AGAIN for the 30th consecutive time!" she lit up, taking his arm and leading him out.

"Hey, no! I am going to find one game there that I can finally beat you at!" he argued.

"Cleanly?" she asked back, laughing.

"YES!" he argued. "…Maybe!"

Not long after they had left, Velvet had came back into the room, immediately fishing through the dresser to look for something.

"Ah, damn it, Alex, why do you have to pile your things all over mine?" she muttered, tossing things left and right. "I have to find that shirt, I just have to…what's this?"

She found a small black velvet box. Curious, she opened it to find the ring that Alex was hiding for AJ. "Oh my God, this is beautiful! I wonder who this is for…hey, maybe this ring's for me. Maybe Chris bought this ring for me, an engagement ring!" she cried excitedly. "Oh God, I can't believe it! He's going to propose to me!"

And speak of the Devil, Sabin himself walked into the room next to find his happy and smiling girlfriend. "Hey, Vel, what's got you in such a good mood?"

As a reply, she grinned and immediately wrapped him in a tight hug.

"Uh, whoa! What did I do to deserve this?" he asked with a laugh.

She pulled away to look him in the eyes. "You know exactly what you did and I know exactly what's going on."

He looked confused. "Ok, fill me in, cause I don't have a clue."

The Knockout smiled one of her killer smiles and took out the ring, when his eyebrows raised in more confusion.  
"Don't act like you don't know, Chris! Baby, I love you so much, and I'll gladly accept your marriage proposal!" she exclaimed.

Now little did either of them know, Mickie just happened to be walking down the hall, and hearing Velvet's words, she couldn't believe it. Was the man that she loved all along really willing to get married to someone else after all? Her eyes widened and a stray tear was threatening to fall down her face before she hurried off to hers and Jericho's room.

Back in the Guns' room, Chris was shocked upon hearing this and pulled away from Velvet. "Vel, wait, slow down. Can you repeat what you just said?"

"Sab! What else is this ring supposed to mean? It was hidden on MY side of the dresser, so of course you brought it for me, and of course I accept! So, when do you want to start planning for the wedding?"

"Babe, you've got this all wrong."

"Huh?"

"This is all a huge misunderstanding. This ring isn't for you, it's for AJ." he explained.

Her eyes widened. "You bought an engagement ring for AJ?!" she demanded.

"No! ALEX was GIVEN this ring to GIVE to AJ." he explained even further. "He was just hiding it here so that she couldn't find it."

"Oh. So…you're not really proposing to me?"

"Vel, let's get real here. You and I've only been going out for a few months. You and I both know that we're nowhere near ready to get married." Chris replied with a light chuckle.

Velvet, in the meantime, wasn't amused. "Speak for yourself, Chris! Maybe I might've been ready!" she argued, storming into another room to be alone.

"Jamie!...Ah, great." he sighed, rolling his eyes a little.

The next morning, the rift between Chris and Velvet was pretty obvious to Alex and AJ…

"Vel, when are you gonna talk to me again?" he asked his girlfriend.

"I dunno. When will you stop misplacing rings in the dresser to make me think otherwise?" she asked back.

"What rings?" AJ asked.

Alex's eyes widened and he sent Chris a silent look as if to say, 'Don't tell her!'

Chris sent him a look back which replied, 'Well, what the hell am I supposed to say?"

Alex silently mouthed, 'I dunno, make up something!'

"Uh, AJ, it was just a mood ring that I found. Velvet wanted it, but I told her that it belonged to someone else." he lied.

"Oh, that is far from the truth!" Velvet cried, getting up and storming to the shower. "I need some time to clear my head, I'm getting a migraine."

"Yeah, Hyena, go and take your flea bath, why dontcha!" Alex called after her.

"_Oh, screw you, Shellfish!"_ she called back.

"…Okay, what's going on with you guys, Chris?" AJ asked slowly.

He sighed. "Honestly, I have no idea, little sis. Guys, I'll be right back, I'm gonna go downstairs to get some coffee. You guys want any?"

"Bring us a couple of sodas, Chives." Alex demanded, running his fingers through AJ's hair.

"Don't tell me what to do, dillweed. AJ, since you're the sweet one, I'll be more than happy to buy you whatever you want to. As for you, Alex, get it your-damn-self." Sabin smirked.

"How dare you talk to me like that, douche?!" Shelley demanded, about to run after him, while Chris laughed and sped off. "The nerve of him."

When Chris arrived down to the lobby, he nearly collided into a short brunette. "Oh, I'm sorry—Mickie?"

She looked up at him with a small smile. "Oh Chris! Hey." she said in a small voice.

He took another look at his ex-girlfriend, whose eyes were a little puffy. "Mickie, you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, why?" she asked quickly.

"Well, no offense, but you look kinda horrible."

"Heh. Thanks, Chris." the Diva said flatly.

"No, I mean…you just don't look like yourself. Everything ok with you?"

"Why do you care? Everyone else around here hates me."

"I care because you're still my best friend. Even though the others seemed to have turned their backs on you, I haven't, cause I know that deep down, the old Mickie's still there." Sabin replied, combing back her hair while she felt like crying.

"You're still my best friend too, Sab, and I really appreciate you sticking by me. But there's nothing going on with me, so just forget about it." Mickie replied, about to walk off.

He stopped her. "Micks, come on. If you can't tell me, who else can you tell? I highly doubt that Jericho would be able to help much."

She sighed and finally decided to spill everything. "I—I can't believe that you're marrying Velvet!" she confessed. "There, I said it!"

"Mickie—"

"I was walking by your room and I heard her saying how she'd accept your marriage proposal, and…and…why her, Chris?" she asked, looking into his clear blue eyes.

He couldn't help but to smile, knowing that her freaking out meant that she still wanted him. "Mickie, Mickie, relax for a sec! Velvet and I aren't getting married!"

"You're not?"

"Of course not! See…look, what I'm about to tell you has to stay between you and I. You gotta promise that you won't tell anyone."

She nodded. "I promise."  
"Ok. Alex was given a ring to give to AJ in the near future, and he hid the ring in our dresser. Velvet just happened to find the same ring and assumed that it came from me. That's where the fake 'proposal' came from." he explained.

"Oh…" Mickie nodded, feeling totally relieved.

"Yeah, so I never proposed to anyone! But Mickie, were you so upset about this because…you want me back?" he asked with an amused smile.

With a blush on her face, she quickly replied, "Uh, I better hurry and get this newspaper back to Jericho, he's waiting for me. Bye, Sab!"

"She totally wants me back." Chris announced to himself with a smile once she was out of reach.

Meanwhile, Mickie quickly bursted back into hers and Jericho's hotel room, where he greeted her first.

"Hey, Mickie, what's the—"

He was cut off when her lips suddenly pressed against his. Doing this, she had to remind herself that Jericho was her boyfriend and she loved HIM. Right?..._Right?_


	96. Chapter 96

**Chapter 96**

The next Monday, the gang was once again preparing for that week's Raw episode, and saying that tensions were high would be an understatement. In the Guns' locker room…

Alex was quietly minding his own business while looking back and forth between Chris and Velvet, who were sitting on opposite sides of the room. Apparently, she was still upset over the proposal that never happened, while Chris believed that she was making too big of a deal over it.

"So uh…lovely evening we're having, huh?" Alex spoke up first.

"I guess." Chris replied. "So, you ready to head out for our match?"

"Now? We don't have to head out for 35 minutes."

"Yeah, but I'm sure Velvet here wants her alone time to think about how we _don't have to get married so quickly!"_ he cried, shouting the last part at her.

"Well, how can you just speak for the both of us like that?!" she demanded back. "I think we love each other enough to say those special vows! What's so wrong about that?!"

Alex rolled his eyes. "Hyena, will you please stop stressing my best friend out?" he asked slowly and irritably.

"Stop calling me that, Tool! Besides, the only thing stressing Chris out is that cheap hair gel that's always emitting noxious fumes from your head!" she cried back.

He gasped, insulted. "This hair gel is quality hair gel that I've had to pay $5.95 for out of my own pocket! You know what, if you want a war, you've got one. You're so dumb, you think that Johnny Cash is a pay toilet!" he snapped.

"OH! You're so dumb it takes you an hour and a half to watch '60 Minutes'!" Velvet cried back.

"Oh yeah? You're so dumb, if you ever got hit by a cup, you'd say you'd gotten _mugged!_" Alex cried.

"You're so dumb that it takes you an hour to cook minute rice!" Velvet exclaimed.

"You're so dumb, that you got fired from the M&M factory for throwing away all the W's!" Alex replied.

"Well, well…you're a VULTURE!" Velvet cried, not knowing how to reply.

"Well, I don't consider you a vulture…I consider you something a vulture would eat." he smirked.

"_OH!"_ Velvet screamed, insulted. Chris, in the meantime, was quietly chuckling in his corner. "Chris, aren't you going to SAY something?!"

"What do you want me to say?" he asked, smirking.

"It's not funny! Alex is here insulting me 24/7 and you never say or do anything to defend me!" she cried.

"Look, you just can't let Alex's words get to you, all right? Hell, he insults me all the time and it doesn't bother me!" Sabin exclaimed.

"Cause he's my best friend." Alex smiled along.

"Well, it bothers me, and that's another thing that needs to change, Chris! I'd like it if you'd stand up for me and tell Alex to knock it off whenever he's bad-mouthing me. Ok?" the blonde asked.

Chris sighed and rolled his eyes, looking towards Alex who shrugged and replied, "You chose her."

* * *

Meanwhile, AJ and Britani were strolling down the halls…

"Oh, thank goodness that Alex never really did anything with Eve the Corporate whore!" Britani exclaimed after AJ had told her everything.

"Well, I knew that he didn't! All I want to know is why Mickie said that she posted all of those pictures when she obviously didn't." the tiny Diva replied.

"Maybe I lied and said that, cause I wanted to piss you off." Mickie said, startling them both.

They turned around.

"Oh really? That's pretty low, Mickie, but then again, you've done a lot of low and cruel things lately." AJ replied, crossing her arms.

"Call it the perks of being the Women's Champion." she chuckled. "Well, see you around."

"No, you're not going anywhere until I talk to you. I'm calling you out for a rematch for that." she said, pointing to the title.

She raised an eyebrow. "Uh, excuse me?"

"I want a rematch against you, to win back the title that I shouldn't have lost in the first place." AJ explained. "Hell in a Cell's coming up soon, isn't it? You're gonna have to defend that title against somebody and it should be against me."

"Um, if I could interject for a moment?" Britani cut in. "I think you deserve a shot at the title more than anyone, but I was also cheated out of Summerslam when Mickie somehow sabotaged my car to keep me stranded away from the arena." she said, sending a glare her way. "I could've helped my Punkers in his match, but I wasn't able to, huh, _Mickie?_"

"So?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"SO, I think I deserve a bloody shot at your title, too!" she cried.

"No!" Mickie argued.

"Hey, if anyone deserves a rematch, it's me!" Beth Phoenix exclaimed, joining them.

"YOU?!" the girls cried.

"Yeah, me! I was the one who held the title to begin with until AJ won it from me and then Mickie won it from her, so I should be the number one contender!" the blonde exclaimed.

"NO!" Mickie cried again. "I don't have to defend my title against either of you three _Divas_, so get to the back of the line!"

"Hey, wait just a damn minute here!" Beth argued. "Back at the party, you said that if anyone deserved a shot, it was me, and FYI, I am not a Diva. I am a woman, and this woman is GOING to get a shot at THAT."

"Hey, I was the one who was cheated out of—I never even got my rematch after I lost the title—" AJ and Britani's voices overlapped, before Mickie yelled,

"Everyone SHUT UP!"

Silence.

"Now listen, I'm not defending my title against any of you, so deal with it!" the Country Diva cried, but before she could leave, Chris Jericho joined them, randomly appearing around the corner.

"Oh, no." AJ muttered.

"Mickie, what are you doing?" he asked. "You can't just refuse to defend your title."

"I think she's afraid to defend it cause she knows that she's going to lose it just as quickly as she got it." replied Britani.

"That's a lie!" Mickie snapped.

"Ladies! Settle, all right? I need a word with my girlfriend." Jericho said, pulling her aside. "Now babe, look. A true, fighting champion doesn't win a title and chooses not to defend it. Don't you want to give the Women's Championship some prestige? People will respect you once you defeat all three of them, and it'll make you look like an even stronger champ than you already are. Get what I'm sayin?"

She nodded. "True. So what should I tell em?"

"Tell them that you'll face all three of them in a Fatal Four Way, simple as that."

The Diva nodded and then turned back to the other women. "Ok. You're all on. AJ, Britani, Beth, and I in a Fatal Four Way for the Women's Championship. You in?" she asked.

"Wait, wait, I think we should raise the stakes just one more time. Since it's Hell in a Cell, it's only appropriate that we do this in a steel cage once again." AJ announced, smiling. "I love steel cages."

"Sweet. I'm in!" Britani agreed.

"So am I." agreed Beth.

"Fine! But don't get your hopes up, ladies, cause I'm stepping out of that cage as the winner either way. C'mon, babe." she said, while Jericho sent them a knowing smirk and led his girlfriend away.

"What's his deal?" AJ asked quietly.


	97. Chapter 97

**_AN: Got the idea for this chapter after an episode of a TV show that I watched once. Enjoy._  
**

* * *

**Chapter 97**

Later that night after the show, Alex had grown extremely irritated with Chris and Velvet's constant arguing at the arena, during the car ride home, and now back at the hotel. Normally, he'd be happy to see them argue, but at this rate, he'd do just about anything to shut them both up.

Velvet stormed through the door yelling, "I don't want to hear it, Chris!"

"Well, you better hear it, cause that's what I'm trying to tell you!" he snapped, storming in after her.

AJ and Alex entered last, almost looking zombie-like.

"…They're arguing about fruit." AJ announced slowly.

"That does it. I can't believe I'm saying this, but something needs to be done to bring those two back together." Alex replied. "What should we do?"

"Well…um, Shells, I can't really stay to help." she said, twiddling her fingers.

"Why not?"

"Cause, Kaitlyn and Britani invited me for a Girls' Night out and I just couldn't pass up a chance at rock climbing, foosball, and ice hockey!" she exclaimed. "Sorries."

"Aw, babe! You're gonna leave me here alone with the Odd Couple?" Alex cried.

"Look, it won't be that bad! Just…try to get them back together over a nice, romantic dinner right here. That usually works." she smiled.

"But what if I end up with a fork through my neck at the end of the night?" he asked flatly.

"Alex, I know that if anyone can handle them, you can." AJ replied, giving him a kiss. "I'll be back in a few hours. I love you."

"I love you, too. Have fun." he sighed sadly.

"You try and have fun here, too!" she sent him a wave before heading out.

Alex grumbled and turned back around to hear Chris and Velvet arguing from the other room:

"_Tomatoes aren't a fruit, I'm telling you!" _Velvet cried.

"_They are SO! Why the hell are you fighting me on this?" _Sabin snapped back.

"_Because I'm right!"_

"_No, you aren't!"_

"_Are you calling me DUMB?!" _she exclaimed.

"_Hey, you said it, not me!" _he replied.

Shelley decided to take his girlfriend's advice and looked in the fridge for anything that they could call a romantic dinner.

"Hmm…ice cream cake and microwavable fries. Good enough." he replied, tossing the fries into the microwave. Since he had to wait 10 minutes for them to cook, Alex had to endure listening to his friends' constant bickering from the other room. "Is this what my life has been reduced to?" he muttered to himself.

*DING!* called the timer on the microwave.

"Awesome. HEY LAVERNE AND SHIRLEY, GET IN HERE, IT'S CHOW TIME!" he yelled, setting three places at the table. The happy couple came out of the doorway at the same time, until Velvet had to shove herself through first. "Ladies first!" she cried.

He stumbled forward a bit and shot her a look, crying, "Excuse ME!" Finally, they met up at the dinner table.

"Ok, we have some yummy ice cream cake and some delicious gourmet fries. Bon appetite." Alex announced.

Chris and Velvet were about to take their seats, but looked at one another before the blonde announced, "You know what? I am not associating myself with someone who doesn't want to marry me. So I will enjoy my dinner right over here where I can be ALONE."

Once she moved to the coffee table in front of the TV, Chris glared at her before replying, "Fine! If she gets to go to the coffee table, then I'll enjoy mine by the window, ALL the way over here! At least the sight will be an improvement."

"Puh." Velvet scoffed, sticking out her tongue towards him.

"Puh." Chris scoffed in reply, doing the same as he moved to the other side of the room, by the window.

Alex, in the meantime, rolled his eyes and stayed where he was at the table. After an awkward silence, he said, "Well, this really is a wonderful dinner!"

Velvet poked at her fries and made a face. "…They're stone cold!"

He tossed her a lighter. "Here, heat em up then." he replied dully.

Before he could get to his ice cream cake, Chris called from the other side, "Alex, can you pass me the salt?"

Alex sighed. "Sure, dude." he replied, approaching his friend and dropping the salt onto his table. "Enjoy."

"Thanks!"

Once he got back to his table, he was about to dig into his ice cream cake before it melted, but Velvet called, "Alex, could you please pass me the salt?"

He looked up at her. "Chris has the salt."

"I know. I want you to give it to me." she replied.

The Detroit native huffed and dropped his fork, before walking all the way over to Chris's table. "This is gonna be the only meal I ever walked off before I even got to it." he muttered, approaching Chris. "…How's the view?" he asked sarcastically, snatching the salt.

"Just fine, dude." Sabin replied.

Next, Alex approached Velvet and placed the salt on her table, before heading back to his table.

"Thanks, Alex!" she called.

"I hope you people are good tippers!" he called flatly.

Alex was about to get to his ice cream cake before it became a puddle of chocolate and vanilla, but Chris called AGAIN, "Alex, can you hand me some ketchup?"

Defeated, Shelley slammed his head onto the table to collect his thoughts and to keep his sanity for a few moments, and then, without a word, grabbed the bottle and got up to approach his friend.

After Chris took what he wanted, Alex looked towards Velvet before going back to his seat. Approaching her next, he sat next to her. "I just happened to be in the neighborhood. Just thought I'd drop by. Would you care for some ketchup?" he smiled mockingly.

"Oh, no thanks, Alex. The very sight of ketchup makes me sick." the blonde replied.

"In that case, I'll leave it right here." Alex muttered, carelessly dropping the bottle right by her, not seeing the glare that she had sent him.

Finally, he got back to his table and tried once again to attempt to enjoy his slowly melting ice cream cake. Before he could dig in, Chris called once again, "Hey, Alex, could you pass me the rolls?"

Seeing that there was a basket of rolls on his table, Shelley mentally cursed himself for not leaving with his girlfriend, before slowly putting down his fork and calmly replying, "Sure, Chris. You want rolls?..." he quickly stood up and began tossing the rolls right at him! "I'LL GIVE YOU ROLLS!" Alex snapped, furious.

Shocked at his outburst, Chris was forced to hide under the table. "ALEX!" he cried.

Then, he turned to Velvet. "Hey, you want some rolls, too?!" he exclaimed, tossing roll after roll at the blonde. Once one bounced off of her head, she cried, "OH!" before crouching down on the couch and shielding herself with a pillow.

"You guys want any KNIVES to go with that?!" Alex yelled, holding up a few.

Sabin and Velvet quickly rushed to Alex to stop him before he went on some kind of killing spree.

"Alex, STOP!" Velvet cried.

"What the hell's wrong with you?!" Chris demanded.

"Yeah, why are you acting so silly when our relationship's falling apart?!" she added.

"Silly?!" Alex cried. "Hell, I could put on a clown suit and throw a pie in your face, and I STILL wouldn't be acting sillier than you two!"

"What do you mean?" asked Chris.

"Let's face it! _Apparently _you two belong together, even if I don't like it! Besides, the one thing you DO have in common is that nobody will put up with either one of ya!" Shelley exclaimed.

"Hey! Just what is wrong with us?!" Velvet asked, offended.

"You got an _hour?!_ We could start with your lack of money, lack of prospects, lack of intelligence, and then go on to your really BIG problems!" he continued.

"Hey, hey!" Chris stopped him, not happy at all. "That lack of intelligence thing is a lie! I think that Velvet's as bright as a button!"

She lit up. "You do?"

"Sure! Compared to me." Sabin agreed.

"Sabin, compared to you, this melting ice cream cake over here is a Rhodes scholar!" Alex reamed him.

"Knock it off, Alex!" Velvet exclaimed. "Look, Chris may not have a lick of sense, and he may be an overgrown adolescent who will never amount to anything, but I love him and I won't hear another word against him!"

Alex raised an eyebrow.

Chris turned to Velvet. "Wow, Vel, that just may have been one of the nicest things that anyone's ever said to me." he smiled.

"Please." Shelley muttered.

"Listen, Vel, I'm sorry that you found the ring and got all excited over nothing. But you have to understand that it's just not our time to get married, and…I'm just not ready." Chris said seriously.

She nodded. "I understand. Sorry I got so upset at you." she replied, taking his hands. "But one day, we will get married, right?"

"I…" he began, suddenly thinking about Mickie. "We'll—we'll see."

"Yes! Now come on, babe, let's make love." the blonde said seductively, leading him into the bedroom and slamming the door.

In the meantime, Alex pretended to gag before looking at his melted ice cream cake, which was now reduced to a puddle. "I would've had a more enjoyable time sitting through a freaking root canal." he muttered miserably, grabbing a straw and slurping up whatever was left on his plate.


	98. Chapter 98

**Chapter 98**

Fast forwarding to October 28th, it was another PPV Sunday, and the night of Hell in a Cell, where AJ, Britani, Beth, and Mickie were preparing for their title match in a steel cage. All throughout the week, the girls have been busy training, with each of them being confident that they'd come out as the winner. In the Guns locker room…

Alex was giving AJ a pre-match massage while Punk was helping Britani with her pre-match stretches.

"So, this should be a huge night for you two." Chris announced, with Velvet sitting next to him. "You afraid that if either of you win the title, your friendship will be thrown out of the window?"

AJ and Britani exchanged surprised looks.

"Absolutely not, Chris!" AJ exclaimed. "No matter what happens, we'll still be as tight as girlfriends could ever be."

"That's right! If she wins, I'll be happy for her and vice versa…but April, let's just get it clear that I intend to walk out of that cage as the new Women's champ." Britani replied.

"What makes you so confident?" she asked back.

"Cause I have the greatest trainer in the world, my Punkers, of course!" she exclaimed, giving him a kiss.

"I rule." the Straightedge Superstar agreed.

AJ chuckled a little. "That's very well and good, but I intend on walking out the winner because I've been trained by the one and only Alex Shelley, and I know for a fact that I'll surprise you all out there." she replied.

Alex smiled and kissed the side of her neck. "She's right, so don't be too disappointed once she's carrying the title. You've been warned." he agreed.

"Hold on, Alex, are you saying that my training skills aren't – how should I put it – up to par?" Punk asked with an amused smile.

"No, no, dude! All I'm saying is that my training skills are way better and they'll show after my girlfriend wins." he said confidently.

"How could you say that your training skills are better than mine?" Punk argued back. "And I don't know what you're talking about, cause MY girlfriend's gonna win!"

"In your dreams! MY girl's gonna win!" Alex argued, standing up to face him.

"Uh, ladies, this argument might last all night, so you better go." Chris whispered to AJ and Britani.

They both laughed.

"Good idea, Chris. Later, boys, we'll see you in a few!" AJ called, but Alex and Punk were too busy arguing to see that their girlfriends were already leaving. "Guys?"

Britani rolled her eyes. "C'mon, they'll never shut up about it. Let's go." she smiled, leading them out.

* * *

And soon after that, the match was about to begin…

Beth Phoenix's music was heard through the arena first as the jeers began. Lillian announced, "This Diva's Fatal Four Way Steel Cage match is scheduled for one fall, and it is for the Women's Championship! Approaching the ring first, from Buffalo, New York, she is one half of the Diva's Tag Team Champions, Beth Phoenix!"

The blonde ignored all of the usual jeers from the crowd, wearing her tag title around her waist. She was so used to carrying her old Diva's title, but she was intent on becoming Women's Champ once again and to prove her dominance. She looked up at the steel structure and a sadistic smirk grew across her face. Oh the torture that she would place her opponents through.

_"I can't feel the way I did before_

_Don't turn your back on me_

_I won't be ignored_

_Time won't heal this damage anymore_

_Don't turn your back on me, I won't be ignored..."_

The jeers turned into tons of cheers once the crowd saw Britani doing her signature pose and then headed down to the ring. Lillian continued, "Approaching the ring next from Norwich, England, Britani Knight!"

The British Diva slapped the fans' hands before slowing down and looking up at the steel cage. Since this was her first steel cage match, there was no doubt that she was nervous, but since she had been a part of the first ever Divas MITB match, she was excited for a match like this one as well.

"_Hundred miles an hour on a dead end road_

_I need a little Detroit in my soul_

_Every night's hotel a different name_

_It's part of the game_

_Everybody wants to be just like me_

_Fame and fortune is their fantasy_

_I gotta get back where the life was pretty_

_Rockin all the way to the Motorcity_

_Motorcity, motorcity, motorcity, I'm rockin' all the way to the motorcity..."_

The fans roared once the Guns' theme was heard and AJ appeared at the top of the ramp, posing the 'Guns' sign.

"Next, approaching the ring from Detroit, Michigan, AJ!" Lillian continued.

The Diva smiled and slapped the fans hands before climbing into the steel cage with ease. The last time she was in one, she had the time of her life, and she was stoked to be in a match like this once again.

_"Hey, hey, can't you see?_

_I'm a rockin southern girl runnin' wild and free_

_Hey, ya'll walkin' through the door_

_High-class style country to the core_

_HARDCORE COUNTRY!_

_Back woods or uptown_

_HARDCORE COUNTRY!_

_Rockin' your world with a thrillbilly sound_

_Hills and stones_

_Junior and Jones_

_One thing I'll always be_

_HARDCORE COUNTRY!"_

"And finally, approaching the ring from Richmond, Virginia, she is the current Women's Champion, Mickie James!" Lillian finished while the Country Diva had on an evil grin and skipped down to the ring with her title proudly held in the air. The fans jeered at the good girl-turned-bad as she climbed into the ring, and then raised her title for all to see. She turned around to find all of her opponents glaring at her, before handing her title to the ref.

As soon as Mickie turned around, AJ, Britani, and Beth all attacked her at once, sending a slew of punches and kicks at the cornered Diva, who was trying to shield herself. The ref had to break them all up, and as soon as he did, Mickie got her revenge by punching and kicking them all away. First, she targeted Beth by taking her down with a bridging cradle suplex and went for an early pin. Beth kicked out at two and quickly got up to attack Mickie with a delayed cradle suplex in return, quickly going for another pin. The Country Diva kicked out at two, and quickly got up to face the blonde, chuckling and nodding.

While the two women faced one another, they didn't see Britani and AJ running ahead and taking them both down from behind with double superkicks, sending the heel Divas face first into the steel wall. After that, Britani and AJ sent a nod towards one another, before pinning both Mickie and Beth's faces against the wall, causing the two to struggle to get their opponents' outstretched legs off of them. Once they did, Mickie and Beth looked at one another in mutual understanding and decided that they needed to team up to get these girls off of their backs.

Getting up, they managed to take the face Divas down with a couple of back and forth double clotheslines, before Mickie took Britani out with a headscissors takedown, and Beth took AJ out with a Samoan driver. The fans jeered at this as the evil Divas laughed triumphantly, but Beth's laughter suddenly stopped once Mickie suddenly took her out with another superkick. She went for the cover, but Beth quickly kicked out at two.

Meanwhile, AJ and Britani were slowly getting back up and saw that the door on the steel cage was wide open, giving them a chance to escape and to win. The two looked at one another before rushing to the door, but when AJ was about to crawl out, Britani grabbed her by the ankle and pulled her back in. Britani tried to crawl out after this, but April leapt onto her and forcefully pounded her across the back, eliciting a cry of pain from the British Diva. She turned around to face her friend with a baffled look on her face, and knowing that all friendship was aside, the two grappled before trading punches back and forth.

Soon, AJ got the offensive with a shining wizard, followed by a spinning heel kick. She went to cover Britani, but the raven haired Diva kicked out at two. They soon got back up to where Britani attacked back with a surprise fisherman brainbuster, taking the tiny Diva out. Instead of going for the pin, though, she decided to climb up side of the cage to escape. The other three competitors saw this, though, and Mickie and Beth ran to climb up and stop her by grabbing onto each of her ankles, trying to pull her down. AJ wanted in on the action, too, but was standing in the wrong place where Britani was pulled off of the wall and landed square onto the tiny Diva's body, with Mickie and Beth standing on opposite turnbuckles.

With similar smiles on their faces, the two flashed each other a look before leaping off of their turnbuckles and saw their opponents lying flat on the mat. Britani and AJ exchanged horrified looks before rolling out of the way, just in time for Mickie and Beth to crash to the mat, holding their midsections in pain. Thinking that this was their chance, both AJ and Briatni decided to climb up the opposite side of the cage, and were head to head trying to see who could make it to the top first. Once they did, the two faced one another and traded a few more punches, with each of them trying to hang on for dear life.

Mickie and Beth had recovered from their fall and were surprised to see their opponents already at the top of the cage, and then noticed the open door. Thinking fast, Beth grabbed Mickie and slammed her head first into the steel wall numerous times, trying to stun her, and also busting her open in the process, evident in the blood that Mickie could feel coming from her forehead. As she slumped to her knees, Beth headed for the open door, but when she had half of her body out of the cage, Mickie crawled to stop her by pulling her back in and then attacking her with a few stomps to the back of the Glamazon. With her down, she rushed to stop Britani and AJ, who were still at the top of the cage.

She quickly climbed up and stood between the two, elbowing them both in the faces before they lost their balance and fell down to the mat. Thinking that she had this match, Mickie laughed and continued to climb, to where AJ was the first to get back up and stop her. Mickie looked down to see AJ right beneath her, and tried her best to kick her away, to no avail. Since AJ was closest to the top turnbuckle, she carefully stood over it and managed to have Mickie perched over her shoulders. Although AJ knew that this was a risky move that would probably hurt the both of them, she decided to go for it anyway.

The tiny Diva leaned back, with Mickie still over her shoulders and they were both taken down to the mat with a powerful spinebuster. With the two reeling in pain, neither had the strength to pin the other, so Britani and Beth rushed to try and pin them. Before they could, though, Mickie and AJ used all they had to leap themselves up to their feet and double teamed the two with stereo enzuigiris. As the crowd cheered seeing their old tag-team move, AJ and Mickie slowly turned to face one another. The former best friends eyed one another, knowing deep down inside that they wanted nothing more to be best friends again. Unfortunately for now, that wasn't the case when Mickie Irish whipped her across the chest.

"WOO!" exclaimed the crowd.

AJ winced and held her chest before retaliating with an even worse Irish whip across the Country Diva's chest, sending her back as the crowd cried another round of 'WOO's. Mickie held her chest and then fought back by kicking her in the midsection, and when AJ gained her composure again, she retaliated by kicking Mickie even harder in the midsection as well. The tiny Diva soon gained the advantage by taking Mickie back with a few punches, followed by her finisher, the Sliced Bread #2. She quickly went for the pin, but before the ref could count, the lights suddenly shut down and there was a confused murmur in the crowd.

_Break the wall DOWN!_

_(Break down the walls)_

_For those about to rock and what you want_

_Baby you know you're Judas and I'm your priest_

_Baby what I got is not from the least_

_Bring it through the stage in the rage of a beast…_

The lights cut back on and AJ was shocked to see Chris Jericho arrive with that sinister smirk on his face, and once he approached the other end of the cage, he called out the tiny Diva by yelling, "That title will never be yours! It belongs to Mickie and it always will!"

AJ snarled and clung onto the cage, seriously wanting to wring his neck, and then decided to climb up anyway. She nearly reached the top and pointed towards Jericho, but before she could even get to him, Mickie was already climbing her way to the top, sending a sadistic smirk AJ's way as she gave her the Mick Kick, taking her down. Although AJ managed to land on her feet, it was too late to climb back up once Mickie climbed up and over the cage, eventually landing on her feet and outside of the ring.

The bell rung while Lillian announced, "Here is your winner and STILL the WWE Women's Champion, Mickie James!"

The fans sent their jeers towards the Country Diva, who snatched the title and was then lifted into Jericho's arms, sharing a passionate kiss with the Canadian. As he carried her up the ramp, Beth and Britani were no doubt bummed for not winning, but AJ was the most disappointed of all, angrily gripping onto the cage while she watched her ex-best friend being carried off backstage.


	99. Chapter 99

**_AN: Well, I was hoping to post these next 2 or 3 chapters around Halloween, but oh well. At least it's finally October. Anyway, I just wanted to give a little shout out to ImSeriousBro, you are going to love the next couple of chapters! Hilarity Ensues. ;)_  
**

* * *

**Chapter 99**

Two days after Hell in a Cell, it was Tuesday, October 31st, otherwise known as Halloween. Other than Christmas, Halloween was the Guns' favorite holiday and they were planning on having some fun that evening. Well…everyone except for AJ was excited, anyway. She was still pretty bummed out about not winning her title back from Mickie. Now, at their hotel, she was mindlessly playing her Lollipop Chainsaw game while kicking her legs back and forth, when Alex joined her and greeted her with a kiss on the cheek.

"Hey, baby!" he greeted.

She smiled. "Hey, Shells, what's got you in such a good mood?"

"Well, last time I checked, today was Halloween. Don't you remember?"

"Of course I do, babe."

"Ok, well it's supposed to be a Happy Halloween and I don't see a smile on your beautiful face. April, are you still upset about the title?" he asked, sitting next to her.

She placed her game on pause and then faced him. "Yeah. It just won't stop bothering me. No matter what I do, I can't win. Maybe…maybe this is a sign that I'm not meant to ever be Champion."

"Oh babe, don't say that. You just had a couple of bad nights, and they weren't even your fault. You tried your hardest and—"

"And my hardest just wasn't good enough." she finished with a sigh.

"And no matter what, you will always be my champion, win or lose." he corrected her. "I don't want you to ever forget that."

She couldn't help but to smile at her boyfriend's kind words. "I won't. Thanks for cheering me up, Baby Bear."

He normally would've cringed upon hearing that name again, but coming from her, he found it really sweet. "Hey, that's my job, Crazy Chick. And I have something else that'll cheer you up even more."

"Ooh, what?" AJ smiled.

"Well, I went costume shopping earlier and I just happened to find custom made…Joker and Harley Quinn costumes!" he announced, holding them up while she lit up.

"The Arkham City video game version?" she asked excitedly.

"None other than. So, Harley, you ready to paint the town red tonight, babe?" he asked with a smirk.

"Let's do it, Puddin'!" she imitated, grabbing his hand as they headed off to change.

A little later, Chris and Velvet had arrived at the hotel, dressed up in matching 1970s styled costumes. Chris had on a Saturday Night Fever costume with the fancy white jacket, black sunglasses, and the works, while Velvet had on a tye dyed dress with white go-go boots and sunglasses.

"See, Sab, I told you that this wouldn't be so bad! Don't we look adorable together?" the blonde asked.

He rolled his eyes a little. "Vel, why couldn't I just wear the Billy Idol costume that I wanted to wear in the first place?" he sighed.

"How could we ever match if you go out looking like him?" she asked back.

"You know, Vel, I'm getting tired of you choosing what I have to wear or do." he replied. "I'm my own man, aren't I?"

She looked him in the eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Babe, of course you are. But this is our first Halloween together and I wanted it to be special. Don't you?" she asked innocently.

He nodded. "Sure."

"Good. Now let's tell Alex and AJ what we just found out there. GUYYYYYS!" she yelled. "COME OUT HERE, WE HAVE TO TELL YOU SOMETHING!"

"All right, all right, we can hear you, Hyena!" Alex cried, arriving with his girlfriend.

"Oh, dude, you guys look awesome!" Chris exclaimed, impressed with their costumes.

Alex's Joker costume was a little modified from the traditional one, with him wearing a ripped sleeveless purple jacket with a green vest underneath, along with black jeans and some black sneakers. His hair was temporarily dyed green, and of course he had the Joker's scribbled on makeup on his face.

AJ's Harley Quinn costume was a little different than the original, with her wearing a red and black corset top, and red and black patterned bottoms with red and black knee high boots. Her hair was in pigtails with one pigtail dyed red and the other dyed black, along with a black mask across her eyes and black lipstick.

"Well, you guys look…scary." Velvet announced.

"That's the point, silly hippie. And why do you two look like you escaped from a bad 1970's porn flick?" Alex asked.

Chris lowered his head in embarrassment while Velvet spat back, "We are supposed to represent the Disco scene, thank you very much, tool!"

"Well, poor Chris doesn't look too happy about it." AJ pointed out, patting him on the head.

"I'm not." he agreed.

"Oh, Chris just needs some time to get used to the groovy new look! Now, we called you guys in here because we have a great idea for what we're going to do this evening!" the blonde exclaimed.

"What, dare I ask?" Alex asked, crossing his arms.

"Well, we were walking down the street until we walk by this creepy looking mansion. The guy there tells us that this place has been open for rent, but for some reason, nobody wanted to buy it. So what we thought would be a cool idea to do, was to go inside and…investigate the place. Y'know, to see why everyone's too afraid to live there." Sabin explained with a smile. "You guys in or what?"

"Exploring a haunted house on Halloween night? Hell yeah, we're in!" Shelley exclaimed, looking towards AJ, who nodded in agreement.

"As long as you hold my hand the whole time, cause I'm terrified of the dark." she replied to him.

"No prob, Crazy Chick. So, when do you guys want to do this?" asked Alex.

"Well we gotta head out before midnight when Halloween's over, so let's get going right now. Far out!" Velvet cheered, skipping out first.

The other three looked towards her, startled.

"You chose her." Alex repeated to his best friend for about the millionth time.

"Oh shut up, Joker!" he grumbled, heading out next.

* * *

Not too long after that, the gang headed up the dark streets until they finally reached the so called Haunted House.

"Well, here we are in all its haunted glory." Chris announced as they all looked up at the mansion. "Think the guy's still inside?"

"Only one way to find out. C'mon." Alex announced, as they headed inside. "See, door's already open which means it's an open invitation."

"Wow, this place is uh, roomy." AJ announced, looking through the spacious living room.

"Yeah, not bad! Not bad at all!" Velvet agreed, smiling. "With a little dusting here and there and some renovations, you and I could live here, Chris! Think about it!"

He did indeed think about him and Velvet living anywhere together, and he soon had this weirded out look on his face, slowly shaking his head. "Eh, I don't think so anymore." he muttered.

"Wonder where the fridge is…" Alex began, going into the kitchen and then opening the refrigerator to find nothing but an empty, dusty mess. Grossed out, he quickly slammed it closed. "That's rank." he concluded.

"Ok, well, I bet the water's fine!" AJ replied, taking a glass and turning on the faucet, where instead of water, this murky, brown, sewer-like concoction spewed out instead. "OH!" she cried, backing away.

Chris picked up the glass and took a sip of the stuff.

"Chris, don't drink that! It looks like hot cocoa instead of water!" Velvet cried.

He made a face and poured the liquid down the drain. "Tastes like hot ca-ca." he announced.

"Well, aside from Chris once again putting foreign things into his system, let's go on and explore this place for a while." announced Alex. "C'mon, it's Halloween night, what could possibly go wrong?"

Suddenly, there was what looked like a loud lightning crash which startled everyone, followed by a silhouette standing in the doorway.

"AAH!" everyone screamed.

But the silhouette was revealed to be Mickie, wearing a cowgirl costume. She was surprised to see her…former friends there. "Guys?"

"Mickie?" they cried at once.

"Mickie!" Chris exclaimed, smiling.

Velvet stepped up first. "And just _what_ the hell are you doing here?" she demanded, crossing her arms.

"I heard about this place and since it was Halloween, I just wanted to check it out." the Country Diva replied, crossing her arms and glaring at her. "It's a free country."

"You—you shouldn't be here." AJ said quietly, not really able to look at her.

"But I want to be here." she replied.

"I really don't think this is a good idea." replied Alex. "Until we get the real Mickie back, the Mickie who was a Machine Gun like us and not the new Mickie who betrays her friends, then I don't think we should be talking to one another."

Before she could reply, Chris stepped in and said, "Wait, guys. Come on, it's an open house and Mickie has every right to be here just as much as we do. Stop being so mean to her and let her stay here."

Mickie smiled, flattered by how her ex-boyfriend was the only one who ever defended her.

Velvet, on the other hand, was a little pissed. "Chris, you CAN'T be serious right now!"

"I am serious, Velvet! Now tonight's Halloween and we came here to have some fun, so let's put old feelings aside and do that, ok?" Sabin continued.

As a reply, Alex pondered for a moment and shrugged reasonably, AJ nodded a bit, Mickie mustered a smile, and Velvet still had the same pissed off look on her face.

"Great! Now—" Chris began, but froze once they all heard the front door slam closed.

Silence.

"…Ok, I've seen enough horror movies to know that this is a bad sign." Alex announced quickly.

"Don't tell me we're locked in here." AJ said.

Mickie twisted the doorknob. "We're locked." she concluded, turning back to the gang.

"Oh, like we're supposed to believe a word you say!" Velvet snapped.

"Fine, then YOU try and open this thing, Hippie!" she snapped back.

"I will!" the blonde huffed, rushing to the door and trying to pry it open. "See? Look, it's…it's…it's locked." she mumbled, looking down.

"Wow, locked in a haunted mansion on a dark and spooky Halloween night. Small world." AJ announced.

"Well, friends, I say we take advantage of the situation and have us a little fun around here." Alex announced with a coy smile. "C'mon, let's go exploring now, I want to check out the bedrooms." he turned to AJ while she giggled.

When they headed off, Chris looked behind to find Mickie still standing there alone, and called, "Sweet Mickie?"

She looked up.

"You gonna join us or what?" he smiled, gesturing for her to follow them.

The Diva smiled and walked alongside him.

Before they could even head up the stairs, though, the lights flickered and the whole house became pitch black for a moment.

"AAH!" they all screamed, scurrying back downstairs.

**"_GET…OUT…!"_** a loud, ghostly voice called.

Suddenly terrified, the friends exchanged looks before Alex announced quickly, "Ok, how about we all get the hell outta here?"

"But we can't leave if the front door's locked!" AJ cried, grabbing onto his arm. "Where'd that voice come from?"

"Maybe it's a ghost?" suggested Chris.

"Oh stop it, Chris, everyone knows that there's no such thing as ghosts." Velvet replied.

"_**GET…OUT!"**_ the booming, ghostly voice cried again.

"Ok, screw that theory." she said quickly.

"Seriously, where the hell did that voice come from?" asked Mickie. "It can't be a ghost."

"Well, well, you know what? It probably came from the neighbors next door. Someone's probably yelling at their kids to get out of the house and find a damn job." replied Alex.

Once Velvet turned around and looked up, she yelped. "Oh, God!"

"What's wrong?" asked Chris.

"Look at that picture up there! I don't like how he's staring at me!" the blonde cried, looking up at a painting of a grim looking Edgar Allen Poe that was placed over the fireplace.

"Well, Velvet, have you thought of what you're probably doing to him too?" Alex replied back with a smirk.

"Shut up!" she whined.

"Come on, seriously, Alex, he does look pretty scary!" AJ said, not letting go of his arm.

"Jeez, who pissed him off?" Chris asked, looking up.

Velvet walked backwards, still pretty afraid, but heard a faint growling sound. Behind her was a bearskin rug, with a real bear's head facing Velvet. With each step she took forward, the bear rug slithered behind her. Once she looked back, the rug stayed in place. Finally after looking back once more and seeing that the rug was right behind her, she exclaimed, "Guys, GUYS!"

"What's wrong—What?"

"Ok, you may think that I'm totally going crazy here, but I swear, this bear is following me!" she exclaimed, pointing to the rug.

"Vel, Vel! It's not a bear, it's a bearskin rug." Chris explained.

"Yeah, isn't it obvious?" agreed Mickie.

"NO! I swear, that thing growled and followed me!" she cried.

"Babe, look!" Chris exclaimed, stepping onto the rug. "See, this thing didn't attack me, therefore it's not alive and it's not after you."

"Then again, it could be hibernating, too." AJ replied with an amused smile.

"Maybe." Alex agreed, before turning back to Velvet. "Velvet, are you bears hibernating yet?"

"Leave me alone, Alex, you better leave me alone!" she snapped, slapping him on the shoulder.

"Maybe it's your time of the year!" he laughed.

"Shut up! Look, you guys can joke all you want to, but I KNOW that that bear tried to eat me just now!" she cried.

"Look, let's all just calm down and head to another room." announced Chris. "I heard that there was supposed to be a bubbling Jacuzzi somewhere around here that was filled with grape soda!"

"Oh HELLS yeah, me first, ME FIRST!" Alex cheered, speeding upstairs first.

When the others were already gone, Chris noticed that someone was missing. "Velvet?"

No reply.

"Vel? Vel, where are you?" he called again. "Oh, man. GUYS! Guys, hurry up, get down here quick!"

Alex, AJ, and Mickie joined him.

"What, Chris, don't scare me like that!" AJ exclaimed.

"Velvet's missing, I can't find her anywhere." Sabin replied.

"YES!" Alex cheered. "Thank the Gods above!"

"Alex, this isn't good, we have to find her!" he cried back.

"I guess that ghost wasn't kidding and…whoa." Mickie began.

"What?" asked AJ.

"Wasn't Velvet wearing a headband like that one?" the Diva asked, pointing to where Velvet's very same headband was hanging from a spear.

The gang grew silent.

"Maybe…the ghost thought that the headband was squeezing all of the oxygen from Velvet's brain and, well…he wanted to prevent her from becoming even more airheaded than she already is." Alex said slowly.

Chris shot him a look. "No, dillhole. Look, we just have to find her, all right? Now, this is a huge place, so maybe the best option would be for us to split up. Alex and AJ, you guys check upstairs, and Mickie and I will check everywhere else. Ok?"

The girls nodded while Alex replied, "Good idea. Maybe Velvet's somewhere outside grazing in the fields. Isn't that what all buffalo like to do?" he smirked.

"Will you just look?!" Chris exclaimed, before they all decided to split off into pairs and begin the search.


	100. Chapter 100

**_AN: 100__ chapters in, can't believe it's come this far! Awesome..._  
**

* * *

**Chapter 100**

The search for Velvet was on, and Alex and AJ first looked upstairs for their friend…

They were terrified as hell, of course, so AJ tightly grabbed Alex's arm with one hand, and tightly grabbed his hand with her other one. As they looked up and down the hallway, a giant flash of lightning and a huge thunderclap made them both jump.

"AAAAHHHH!" they screamed, frantically looking every which way.

*Awooooooooo…* a wolf's voice was heard from a distance.

"Oh…A-Alex, what—what was that?" AJ asked in a tiny voice.

"It—It was probably Velvet letting us know that she's all right, babe." Shelley said shakily, wrapping a protective arm around his girlfriend. "Just settle down, everything's going to be all right."

"Well, where the hell could Velvet disappear to so fast?" she demanded. "I hate this place, I didn't know it'd be THIS freaky!"

"It's not that bad, Harley!" he mustered a smile. "We haven't even checked out the bedrooms yet! So let's forget about the missing blonde hippie and enjoy each other instead!"

"Alex, now is not the time to be thinking about sex! We can do that later after we get outta here, but first, let's just find Velvet, ok?" AJ demanded.

"Ok, ok! Hey, there's a door. Let's see if she's in this room." he said, cautiously approaching the door.

"Be careful, Joker…"

"Ok…" he said, slowly opening the door to where tons and tons of bats began flying out, circling around the two!

"AAH!—OH, shit!" AJ and Alex screamed, ducking to the floor while the bats flew past them. After the last of them were gone, Alex tried to check on April, but the scare had been too much for the poor Diva once she fell faint into his arms.

"April? April, speak to me, baby!" he cried, shaking her, to no avail. "AW!..._WHYYYYY?!" _he cried dramatically, looking up.

* * *

Meanwhile, Chris and Mickie were searching together, when they entered another room…

"I don't understand how she could be missing when she was just here with us 10 minutes ago." Sabin announced.

"Well, you gotta admit, it is pretty nice being here together without her around, isn't it?" the Country Diva asked, a smile growing across her face.

"…Yeah. I mean, I hate that it has to be under these circumstances, but…I'm just really glad that you decided to come here in the first place." he replied, smiling back. "So uh, what about Jericho?"

"I actually have no idea where he is. At first, he said that he had to head out and talk with his bandmates, but he said that he'd meet me back."

"Well, who in their right mind would leave someone as beautiful as you all by herself on Halloween night?" he asked.

"Oh, Sab…"

"Oh, Mickie…" he chuckled.

"You know, I never got to tell you how devilishly handsome you're looking tonight, Saturday Night Fever." the Diva smiled.

"You really think I look good in this? I originally wanted to dress up as Billy Idol, but Velvet _insisted _that our costumes had to match. So here I am." Chris replied.

"Sab, don't let her tell you what to do. You have your own mind, so use it."

He smiled and nodded. "You're right. I mean, Velvet HAS been pretty controlling lately ever since I let her down about the wedding proposal that never happened, and I need to take control of this relationship! And the sooner I see her, the sooner I'm gonna tell her. So let's keep looking." he said, while Mickie grabbed his arm. Surprised, he looked back at her.

"Sorry, Chris, I'm just a little nervous about this place. Spooky." she chuckled.

"Hey, I'll protect ya, pretty Cowgirl." he replied, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her close, while a blush crept onto her face.

Once they looked into another room, though, it was pitch black.

"Ok, I hate this now, can we just turn around and leave this scary darkness?" Mickie whimpered, wrapping her arms around Chris's waist.

"Hey, hey, it's only a little dark. Nothing's gonna happen to us—"

*BOOM!*

"AAAAAAHHH!—OH, MY GOD!" the two shrieked.

"...Chris, your scream sounded higher than mine." Mickie said, concerned.

"Sorry, I have a tendency to scream like a girl sometimes." he admitted, trying to feel his way around the room.

"Hurry and find a light switch or something, Chris, I don't LIKE this!" the Diva cried.

"Hold on…there we go." he replied, turning on a lamp. "Now Micks, just calm down, all right? Now all we gotta do is call for Velvet, and then we can get the hell outta here."

"But where IS she?"

Before he could answer, he looked towards the bed and saw a figure huddled under the sheets. He smirked and silently gestured towards the source, while Mickie's eyes widened.

"Is that her?" she whispered.

"It's gotta be. Follow my lead." he replied, approaching the bed. In a loud voice, he called, "Gee! I guess my girlfriend Velvet's nowhere to be found!"

"Yep, she's a goner! So I guess we better just leave!" Mickie exclaimed, smiling.

Chris had his hand over the cover, ready to pull it down. "It was nice knowing her—"

Once he pulled it down, though, a skeleton was there and popped up to a sitting position, scaring the crap out of the two friends.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" they shrieked, holding onto one another for dear life. Sabin had to hold Mickie to keep her from running out on him.

"Holy…CRAP!" she cried, her chest heaving up and down.

"That scared the bejesus outta me!" Chris agreed. "Ok, ok, we gotta calm down."

"Calm down? I'm getting my ass out of Amityville!" Mickie cried, when Sabin grabbed her again.

"Mickie! Come on, it's nothing! Now—"

"_Chris, is that you?"_ Velvet's voice called from out of nowhere.

"Did you hear that?" Sabin asked. "Sounded like Velvet."

"Well, it sounds like she's alive and well, so she can just follow us out." Mickie said quickly, headed for the door, when Chris had to pull her back again.

"No, no! It sounded like she's behind this closet door." he said, approaching it.

"Chris, what the hell are you doing?" Mickie demanded. "Don't open that!"

"Why not?"

"Because! You can't open strange doors all willy nilly! You know in these horror movies, whenever someone opens a strange door, something pops out of there and tries to kill them!" the Diva cried.

"Mickie, those are movies! Now c'mon, let me do this." he said, slowly opening the door. "Vel?...Velvet?"

He opened the door, and so far, nothing had hurt him. Chris chuckled and turned to Mickie, saying, "See? Nothing to be afraid of."

Once he turned his back, though, the door slammed, trapping him inside.

"Chris." Mickie squeaked, terrified.

Then from inside, he screamed, _"No, NO! I'M TOO YOUNG TO DIE, NOOO…!"_

In the room, Mickie threw her arms in the air in defeat, crying, "AWW! Why'd it have to be you, Chris? You were the only man I ever really loved!"

Feeling ready to cry and freaking out all at the same time, she stamped her feet around in an immature fashion and then saw the skeleton turning to her. "STOP LOOKING AT ME!" she yelled. Then, needing to know if Chris was all right, she slowly approached the closet door and opened it with caution. "…Sab?"

And when she opened it, to her horror, there was nobody inside, except the fact that his sunglasses were left behind as his calling card.

"AWW!" Mickie moaned in fear, slamming the door back. Once the thunder and lightning crashed again, she made her decision. "…Screw this, I'm gone." And with that, the Country Diva made a mad dash _through _the bedroom door, leaving her imprint in its wake as she sped off though the halls.


	101. Chapter 101

**Chapter 101**

Meanwhile, in the hall, AJ had finally woken back up, while Alex was helping her back to her feet.

"You ok, baby? You ok?" he asked, combing her hair back. "Those were just bats, April, they didn't hurt us."

"Just BATS?!" she demanded. "Those weren't bats, those were winged little bastards who tried to attack us! Alex, I want to get the hell out of here! Why'd we let Chris and Velvet even talk us into coming here?"

"They talk us into a lot of things that we don't want to do, but the main thing is that we're all right." Shelley replied. "Now come on, I'm still all for some serious lovemaking in the bedroom, so let's find one and—"

"_Forget about sex!_" AJ snapped.

Alex gasped, shocked. "April!"

"Alex, all I want to do is grab Chris and even Mickie, and let's just leave! We can come back for Velvet tomorrow!" the Diva pouted, crossing her arms.

*BOOM!*

"AAAAAHHH!" they yelped, holding onto one another.

"See, Alex, SEE?!"

"April, calm down, will ya? As much as I'd love to leave Velvet behind with all of her woodland creatures, Chris isn't going to let us leave here without her. So for his sake, we just gotta keep looking. Now come on." Alex said, walking down the hall to search.

AJ muttered a few complaints to herself, immaturely stomping her feet and tossing her pigtails back. "Don't wanna look for her…wanna go home…"

But from where she was standing, a trap door opened, revealing a pair of arms wrapping around the Diva and dragging her out of sight! Meanwhile, Alex was totally unaware that his girlfriend had just gone missing.

"Now we'll be outta here sooner than you think—" he paused. "April?"

No reply.

"April! Where'd you go?" he called, standing behind a statue of a knight in shining armor. The knight's arm slowly raised up and grabbed Alex by the back of his collar as his eyes widened. "Okay, Velvet. Knock it off, you hippie, this isn't funny!" he cried, turning around to where the knight's arm fell limp. "Come on, TALK TO ME!" he snapped, slapping the knight's head off of his body. But seeing that there wasn't a body inside, he slowly backed away and groaned. "OHH! Oh no, OH no! GET ME OUTTA HERE!" he screamed, running ahead, and nearly colliding into an equally terrified Mickie.

"AAAAAHHHHHHHH!" the two screamed upon seeing each other, not thinking at all once they sent a few kicks and moves towards one another in self defense.

"Mickie, Mickie, Mickie, stop!" Alex tried to calm her down.

"Alex, they took Chris!" she cried.

"They took April, too!" he cried back, once they held one another. But seeing how they were holding one another, they quickly broke away.

"Well, you know what, I'd rather be holding you in my arms than Velvet." Shelley replied.

"Yeah, same here. I don't have any insect repellent on me, anyway." Mickie agreed.

He laughed. "Good one! Well, at least we can agree on our mutual disgust for that blonde hippie."

"Yeah!" she smiled, nodding. "So uh, does this mean that we're on good terms again or something?"

"I…don't know." he said slowly.

Hearing an eerie moaning sound, the two cautiously turned their heads to find what looked like a white ghostly figure floating a few feet away from them. Turning back to look at one another with scared looks, Alex and Mickie screamed, "…WAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" before speeding the other way.

Once they arrived back downstairs and into the living room, Mickie cried, "All right, I am SICK of being trapped in Charles Manson's House of Horrors! I wanna go home!"

"HEY! Mickie, look! We're the only ones left, and the only thing we can do is stick together, all right? Whoever's been kidnapping everyone else can't take the both of us at the same time." Shelley replied, trying to calm her down. "But the one thing we're not doing is leaving here without April and Chris!"

"Why NOT?!" she whined.

He was now forced to grab her by the shoulders and shake some sense into her. "Mickie! You need to calm…down. Look, we're gonna find everyone, ok? Just help me search the living room."

"Ok."

But as they searched, Mickie followed Alex and wrapped her arms around his waist. He stopped and looked back at her. "Mickie, can you please give me a little space to breathe?" he asked.

"I can't help it, Alex, I'm scared!" she whined.

"Well, don't be, we're gonna be fine! April!" he called. "April, we're on our way to find you, baby! Hold on!"

"Chris? Chris, give us a sign, please!" Mickie exclaimed, but once the lights flickered and shut off, she whimpered and grabbed onto Alex again. "OHH, we're gonna die…"

"No, we're not! Now just stay put while I find a candle to light this place." he said, walking ahead to the top of the fireplace. Before he could do anything else, the lights suddenly flickered back on and he said, "Ok, now that we can see again—Mickie?"

She was suddenly missing.

Now, Alex was really getting afraid. "MICKIE!"

No reply.

Realizing that he was on his own, he looked ahead to find a mummy slowly staggering his way.

"Oh no, NO!" he groaned. "Not the mummy man!"

When the mummy cried to corner him, Alex ran around the couch and tossed the candlestick that he was holding at him, and cried, "Leave me alone, goddamn it!"

The two circled around the other, trying to attack while Alex tried a few kung fu moves to fend off the monster. "If you don't back off of me right now, I'm gonna kick your mummified ass!" he cried, before grabbing a vase from the shelf and smashing it over the mummy's head. He fell to the floor.

"DIE, BITCH!" Shelley cried triumphantly, leaning against a revolving bookcase, sending him back and revealing Velvet, Chris, Mickie, and AJ stumbling out from the other side!

"FREEDOM!" Velvet cried.

"Oh my God, where's Alex?" AJ asked.

The bookcase revolved once again, where Alex stumbled out and joined his friends.  
"ALEX!" she exclaimed, wrapping him in a hug.

"Where the HELL were all of you?!" he demanded, pissed.

"Al—What do you think happened to us?! The mummy man captured us and hid us in the closet!" Chris exclaimed.

The others turned around to find that the mummy was knocked out onto the floor.

"Wow, Alex! You took out the mummy!" Velvet exclaimed, looking him over. Mickie kneeled next to the mummy.

"Uh, y-yeah! Not like I was afraid or anything, cause I kicked his pathetic ass!" Alex replied shakily, trying to sound braver than he actually was.

Mickie ripped open the gauze on the mummy and announced, "Hey, this is NOT a mummy! This is…Jericho?"

Chris Jericho had on a crooked smile and said, "H-Hey, babe, surprised to see me?"

"WHAT?!" the others demanded, approaching him.

* * *

Later…

"…Look, I know I said that I was going out to see my bandmates, but I lied cause I wanted to play a practical joke on you guys." Jericho explained, peeling the rest of the costume off of him. "You guys are so easy to fool, it's pathetic."

"That's so not cool, Chris!" AJ exclaimed, crossing her arms. "How did you know that we'd even be here tonight?"

"Cause! It's Halloween, it's a 'haunted' house, and I just figured! But even though I got caught, I got a few laughs out of it, so I'm happy." the Canadian replied.

"Well you know what? We should call the cops on your happy ass for scaring us shitless, that's what we should do!" Alex snapped.

"But technically, I never committed an actual crime, so nobody can arrest me." he smirked. "Isn't that right, Mickie?"

She crossed her arms. "Well, if he hadn't called the cops on you, I might have."

"What?" he asked, shocked.

"Chris, your so called joke wasn't funny at all! You scared the crap out of me!" she exclaimed.

"Mickie, I never meant to intentionally hurt you." he replied, standing up and placing his hands on her shoulders. "Look, I think we better get back to the hotel and we can talk about this like adults. Come on."

"Mickie, no." Sabin replied. "Don't leave with him. Please, leave with us."

The Diva bit her lower lip and really wanted to run back to her ex, but Velvet glared at her and shook her head. Mickie saw the angry blonde and sighed, taking Jericho's hand as they headed off. Jericho chuckled and looked back at the gang before they headed outside.

"Damn it, we almost had her back with us." Alex announced with a sigh.

"See, I told you! Jericho's the cause of all of this, and we have to get her back on our side." Sabin replied.

"Hmph." Velvet huffed, crossing her arms in disagreement. "Happy Halloween, all right..."


	102. Chapter 102

**Chapter 102**

After Halloween, Mickie was still pretty pissed at Jericho for his surprise prank that nearly scared her and the Guns to death, and throughout the week, Jericho tried to get on her good side, to no avail. In fact, lately Mickie had been thinking a lot less about Chris Jericho and had been thinking a lot more about Chris Sabin. After all, he was the only one who had stayed on her side even when she turned her back on the rest of the Guns. Now it was Monday, and the Country Diva was in Jericho's locker room, polishing her title.

"Mickie, when are you going to start talking to me again?" Jericho asked, kneeling down to meet her height.

"Until you start acting a little more mature for your age. What are you now, 41?" she asked flatly, not making any eye contact with him.

"Oh thanks, Mickie, that was real nice." he replied, serious. "Come on, how long are you going to keep acting like this? It was just a little Halloween prank, nobody was hurt, so just get over it, babe!"

"I can't just get over it, Chris. Somebody really could've gotten hurt in there and you would've been responsible for it."

"Get real, Mickie. Are you really still concerned over those pathetic little Guns?" he asked. "You've moved on from them, babe, you're bigger and better than them! Don't keep dwelling back to the past when you have such a bright future ahead of you."

"They're not pathetic." she said quietly.

Jericho raised an eyebrow. "What?" he questioned.

"They are not pathetic!" she replied.

"Listen, have you been hanging out with Sabin again, even after I told you that you shouldn't have?" he asked.

"He's my best friend. I can't just stay away from him, I told you!" the Diva argued.

"But I can't believe that you're taking in all of this stuff he's trying to tell you! He's the one brainwashing you, Mickie, not me! He's saying all of these nice things to reel you back into his little group, but he's only going to hurt you again in the long run. Stay away from him, Mickie. It's for your own good."

"Excuse ME, _Jericho_?" she demanded, standing up. "But who the hell are you to tell me what I can and can not do?"

"I am not _telling_ you what you can and can't do! I'm just suggesting to you what you _should _do for your own good!" he argued.

"That's bull."

"No, it's not! Now come on, Johnny's called us all for an important meeting, and you and I have to be there." he said, taking her hand, but she violently pulled away.

"I can walk myself there, thank you." she said, rushing out first.

As they headed down the hall, they caught eye of Alex, AJ, Chris, and Velvet walking down the hall from the opposite side. Velvet sent a glare her way, while Alex and Chris sent her a small nod, and AJ shyly glanced at her former friend before hurrying on her way. Mickie sighed regretfully, seeing her former friends, before both she and Jericho stormed into Laurinitis's office. Alberto Del Rio, Eve, Dolph, and Dave were also there. Johnny smiled that stupid grin of his.

"Ah, Jericho, Mickie, right on time! Please have a seat." he announced. After they did, he looked around the room at all of the people sitting before him, and nodded in satisfaction. "It just warms my heart to see all of these wonderful folks sitting here this evening, and especially our WWE Champion and our Women's Champion together. Now, I bet you're all wondering why I've called you to this meeting."

"Do I finally get my well deserved and long awaited title shot?" asked Batista.

"Not yet."

"Crap."

"No, no, this will be just as rewarding as any title opportunity! Now, if you haven't noticed lately, those little punks, the Motor City Machine Guns have been getting away with a lot of crap lately, and day in and day out, they've done nothing but EMBARRASS us!" he exclaimed, pounding his fist on his desk. "Eve, Mickie, aren't you outraged by the fact that amazing Divas like you two are constantly outshined by that little pipsqueak AJ?"

"YES!" Eve exclaimed, standing up. "We deserve better than she does! Why does she deserve all the glory when I work just as hard as she does?"

Mickie rolled her eyes.

"And although I believe that I should've been in the running for the Diva's—Women's Championship, I'm glad that Mickie was able to win it away from AJ. So good for her, I guess." she sighed, sitting back down.

In the meantime, the Country Diva didn't say a word, suddenly feeling worse and worse about the way she won the title from someone who truthfully deserved it much more than she did.

"Mickie, is there a problem?" asked Johnny.

"Uh, sir, she's just a little upset at me. We had an argument earlier about nothing." Jericho replied.

"Well, please put your personal issues aside for a moment, ok? Now onto Sabin and Shelley. Those two punks have been getting away with a lot lately as well, and what we need to do first thing, is keep the tag team titles away from them for good. And second, Alberto, Dolph, Dave, and Chris, aren't you sick and tired of those twerps getting the upper hand over all of you?" he asked.

Alberto stood up first. "That Shelley had crossed the line back at Summerslam when he humiliated me in front of everyone by defeating me and then placing me over a forklift. A FORKLIFT!" he snapped. "He knows that AJ is destined to be with me, but he will just not accept the truth!"

Dave chuckled. "I always have my fun messing with Sabin."

"Well, wait a second," Jericho began, standing up. "How about Punk? He's been associating with them since the beginning, so he's just as guilty as the rest of them! Have you all forgotten what a huge threat he could be? If it wasn't for me saving this company, he'd STILL be wearing this WWE title!"

"Great point, Chris." nodded Johnny.

"Look, the bottom line is, we need to teach these guys a lesson in why they shouldn't keep screwing with us." Dolph concluded. "_They_ keep interfering in matches, and they call US the cheaters? What are we going to do to finally get them out of our hair for good?"

"Well, everyone, after a lot of careful planning, I have everything set in stone. The Guns are going to have their ultimate downfall, and I'm going to need the help of each and every one of you to make it happen." Johnny announced with a sick smile, looking right at Mickie, who sighed and slowly shook her head. She really couldn't keep hanging around these people for too long or else they'd keep messing with her mind.

* * *

Later that same night, the Guns had completed their assigned work for that evening, and were now in their locker room, getting ready to leave…

"Ah, another hard day's work equals a good night's sleep." AJ announced, lacing up her sneaker boots. "I'm exhausted."

"Aw, but you can't be too tired to battle me in a game of Grand Theft Auto, are ya?" Alex asked, wrapping an arm around her.

"Hmm…ok. I'll beat you another 10 consecutive times and then get some sleep." the tiny Diva smiled.

"Why do you always have to bring up the fact that I can't ever beat you in these things?" Shelley demanded.

"Cause it's the truth!" she laughed.

"Yeah, it's the sad truth that you keep getting defeated by a chick." Chris laughed along.

"Oh Sabin, shut up. Who asked you?" he grumbled, fixing his hair in the mirror.

"I asked myself." he smiled, before turning to an angry looking Velvet. "And what's bugging you?"

"I—nothing, forget it." she muttered.

AJ noticed this first and whispered to Alex, "Um, babe, maybe we should leave these two alone."

"Yeah, good idea. I don't want to be a target if they start throwing objects at one another. C'mon, let's go and say good night to the others." Shelley replied, taking her hand.

Once Chris and Velvet were alone, he asked, "Wait a sec. Are you still pissed off about what happened on Halloween?"

"Maybe I am, Chris! Why do you keep trying to bring Mickie back to our group?" the blonde demanded. "SHE was the one who hurt you, SHE was the one who betrayed you guys, and SHE was the one who started this whole mess!"

"She's my best friend, Vel! What the hell am I supposed to do, just leave her out on the curb to fend for herself?" he demanded back.

"Yes!" she cried. "Chris, I love you, but things seriously need to change around here."

Before he could reply, there was a knock on the door, where they saw Mickie standing outside.

"Oh, don't you dare answer it, Chris." Velvet scoffed.

"_Chris, are you in there? I really need to talk to you."_ she called.

Sabin gave his girlfriend a look and went on to answer the door anyway. "Hey, Micks, what brings you to this neck of the woods?" he asked, taking her hand and leading her in.

"Hey, Chris, I—" she stopped, seeing Velvet crossing her arms and turning to face the wall. "Is this a bad time?"

"No, it's not." he replied, glancing towards Velvet and then turning back to her. "Anyway, what's up?"

"I just came to thank you for being so sweet to me back on Halloween and even afterwards. Whenever I needed to talk to someone that wasn't Jericho, you were there and I really appreciate it." she smiled.

"Hey, you're one of my best friends and I promised that I'd be there for you no matter what." he smiled back.

Velvet rolled her eyes.

"I know. It's just, everything seems to be crashing down on me lately and it's like…I can't even speak to Jericho anymore. And with Alex and AJ kind of on the rocks with me, you're all I have left." she continued.

"Oh yeah, well whose fault is that for single handedly alienating everyone who once cared about you?" Velvet spat, turning to her.

Mickie's expression turned to hurt while Chris said, "Velvet…"

"I'm serious! Whenever you have a problem, instead of running to anybody in here, it's always, 'Let me talk to Chris!' Well, you don't deserve to talk to him after all the crap that you've put all of us through." she continued.

"Velvet, what is your problem?" Chris demanded.

"What is my problem? SHE'S my problem!" she exclaimed before turning back to the brunette. "Look, I'm sick and tired of being pushed aside every time you run to Chris with a problem! Do you think that the world's supposed to revolve around you, Mickie? News flash, it doesn't! Get a life! You need to know that Chris is my boyfriend now, not yours anymore."

At that moment, Mickie felt like crying, but held it together. "And obviously, you've never been my friend to begin with." she said quietly, before turning to Chris. "Sab, thanks again."

He gently patted her back. "Anytime." he replied with a nod. After she left, he sighed heavily and turned to his girlfriend.

She sharply turned around to face him again and snapped, "WHAT?!"

"I just wish you knew when to keep your mouth shut." he replied, glaring at her before he left the room next, leaving her to sulk on her own.


	103. Chapter 103

**Chapter 103**

Meanwhile, AJ was in the halls, busily checking her phone for any specific text messages, while Alex was busy holding her close and kissing her neck.

"Alex, I'm really getting worried." she announced.

"About what? That we might end up having sex right here in the hall and end up getting caught?" he asked between kisses.

"No! The fact that Kaitlyn hasn't texted me once tonight." she replied, still flipping through her phone. "She always leaves me about 25 messages and today, nothing."

"Well, is she even here in the arena?" asked Alex.

"Actually…no. I haven't seen a trace of her. It's just not like her to not show up for work, Alex, what if…what if something happened to her?"

"Babe, maybe she had to leave early for an emergency or something." Shelley replied. "I'm sure she's just fine."

"I'm not so sure. Call it Best Friend's Intuition or something, but I just need to make sure that she's all right." the tiny Diva replied, taking his hand and heading down the hall.

Britani walked up to them. "Hey, you two." she greeted with a worried expression.

"Hey, B. Listen, have you seen Kaitlyn anywhere around here tonight?" she asked.

"That's what I was going to ask you. I haven't gotten any texts from her and I haven't seen her all bloody night." the raven haired Diva replied.

"Oh, no." AJ sighed.

"What, neither of you've seen her, either?" she asked.

"No. I'm worried, Britani, what if something happened to her?" asked AJ.

"Like what?"

"That's the thing, I don't know!" she exclaimed.

"All right, let's just ask around and see if anyone else has seen her tonight, ok?" Alex announced, but before they could leave, AJ's cell rang and she quickly picked it up. "Kate?"

"_AJ, please, you have to help me!"_ Kaitlyn cried on the other line.

"_GIVE me that phone!" _a male voice in the background yelled.

After that, was the sound of muffled screaming and some shuffling, while AJ called, "Kate? Kate, are you ok? Kate!"

"_AAHH! No, get off of me, STOP!" _she screamed.

Alex and Britani listened in. "Katie—Kaitlyn, where are you?" they asked.

"_I'm being kidnapped, HELP—NO!" _ she shrieked before the line went dead.

"Katie? Katie?!" AJ cried, hanging up. "Oh my God, we have to find her!"

"Did she say that she was being kidnapped?" Britani asked.

"Yeah, but she didn't say where she was or who kidnapped her!" AJ exclaimed. "How are we supposed to find her?"

"Maybe we should call the police and begin an investigation." she replied.

"The cops usually take their sweet old time, though. I think that we should head out and find her ourselves." announced Alex.

"But HOW are we going to find her?" AJ repeated.

"Use your phone." he explained. "Don't you have that feature on there where you can track down exactly where a certain call came from? We'll be able to find her from that."

"Oh, great idea, Shells, you're awesome." she said, giving him a quick kiss before pressing a few buttons on her phone.

"Find anything?" asked Britani.

"One sec…"

"Hey, hey, stop there. 'Call from 11:22, tracked at Joe's Warehouse, corner of 57th and 39th street.'" he read. "I guess that's the place."

"But what if they've moved from there since Kaitlyn called?" asked AJ.

"Well, it'd be a great place to start, so the sooner we do this, the sooner we'll find her." Shelley replied.

"Ok, let's grab Chris and let's get going." the Diva replied.

"You sure you guys won't need any backup?" asked Britani.

"No thanks, we'll handle it. See you later." she said, rushing off with her boyfriend. After AJ ran out of the building, Alex caught Chris first. "Sabin, we got a problem."

"Really? What happened?"

"Kaitlyn's been kidnapped, apparently."

"What? By who?" he asked.

"That's what we're going to find out. We've tracked down her location and hopefully she's still there. You gotta come along with us, the more eyes around to search, the better." Shelley said in a rush.

"Yeah, yeah, let's go." Sabin agreed, running off with his friend. In the meantime, Velvet had no clue that he'd left the building without her.

* * *

So after quite a bit of driving, the three arrived to the location that they were told to go to, which was this abandoned warehouse. Soon after, they began to explore the dark insides of the place.

"Guys, Kaitlyn called like, an hour ago. How do we know that she's even still here?" asked AJ.

"We don't know, but it still doesn't hurt to look." replied Alex. "This place is pretty huge, so she could be hiding anywhere around here."

"I still don't understand who'd want to kidnap Kaitlyn and why. I mean, she hasn't done anything to anybody." Chris wondered.

"Yeah, that's the weirdest part of it all. It just seems like such a random attack." agreed AJ.

"Well, you said that you heard another guy's voice on the line when you talked to her. Have any idea who the voice belonged to?" asked Alex.

She pondered for a moment and then shook her head. "I have no idea. Well, let's just find Katie first and we can ask her later."

"Y'know, maybe we'll cover more ground if we split up. You guys search this floor and I'll look downstairs." announced Sabin.

"Good plan. Let us know if you find her." Alex called as they turned in different directions.

"Be careful, Sab!" AJ called.

"You guys watch yourselves, too!" he called back, before using his phone to light up the strangely dark place. He heard a stream of water running from a distance. "Holy crap. Who'd want to kidnap anybody in this hellhole?" he asked himself, going downstairs. "Katie? Kate, you here? It's me, Chris!"

"Chris?" a voice asked, close to where he was.

He rushed to turn the corner, but didn't find Kaitlyn. Instead, he found…

"Mickie?"

"Sab! I had no idea you'd be here, too!" the Diva exclaimed.

"Same to you! What are you doing in a place like this by yourself?" he asked.

She shrugged. "I got annoyed with Jericho and I'm trying to get over what Velvet had told me earlier, so I took a little drive and came here to think about things. So, what brings you here?"

"I'm here with Alex and AJ looking for Kaitlyn."

"Kaitlyn? Why'd she be here?"

"Well, she was allegedly kidnapped and AJ's phone tracked her last location to be here. So hopefully Katie's still in one piece." Chris replied, looking back.

"Wow, but who'd ever want to kidnap her?" she asked.

"That's what we're trying to figure out! Hey, you want to help me look for her?"

"Ok, sure." she agreed.

* * *

Meanwhile, AJ and Alex were by the other side of the warehouse, still desperately searching for their friend.

"Kaitlyn!" she called.

"Kate! Give us a sign of life, will ya?" called Alex.

"Oh Alex, I have a feeling that she's not even here."

"We gotta keep looking, babe, she could be anywhere. Just keep calling her name."

"KATIE! KATIE!" AJ yelled.

"_MMM!"_

They froze.

"You hear that?" AJ whispered.

"KATE!" Alex called. "That you?"

"_MMMM!"_

"Oh God, she's here." the Diva said, relieved. "Katie, sweetie, just keep on making as much noise as you can, so Alex and I can follow the sound of your voice!"

"_MMMMMMM!"_

The two ran around the dark building, careful not to crash into anything, until they were finally able to find the blonde sitting behind a bunch of crates, her wrists and ankles tied and her mouth covered with duct tape.

"Oh, Kaitlyn!" AJ cried, carefully ripping the tape off of her while Alex untied her. "Sweetie, are you all right? Who the hell did this to you?"

She let out a sob, sniffling and replying, "I couldn't see who it was."

"Kate, you need to tell us exactly what happened so we can catch the guy who did this." Alex told her.

"Ok, um, I was minding my own business at the arena with you guys and I was on my way to see you, but from out of nowhere, someone grabs me from behind and takes me out of the back door and shoves me into his car. I kept asking who he was or why he was doing this, but all he said was, 'Boss's orders'.

"Boss?" questioned AJ. "What boss?"

"I have no idea, and I never got a chance to see who kidnapped me cause he was wearing all black and a ski mask." the blonde explained. "Who the hell would do this to me? I never hurt anyone!"

While she began crying, AJ wrapped her in a tight hug, saying, "Ok, Katie, it's over. We're gonna get you back to the hotel now. It's gonna be all right."

"Ok uh, April, you take her back to the car, I'll go and find Chris and tell him that we found her." announced Alex.

"Ok, baby, be careful." she replied, leading a frazzled and distraught Kaitlyn away while he headed off.

* * *

In the meantime…

"Kaitlyn!" Mickie called.

"Katie!" called Chris. "You know, something tells me that she's not down here."

"So what should we do?" the Country Diva asked back.

He sighed and shrugged. "We gotta find Alex and AJ to tell em."

"Wait, Chris?"

"Yeah?"

"Maybe I should just leave and head back to the hotel." she said nervously.

"What? Why?"

"Because! I know for a fact that Alex and AJ are still pissed at me, and I just think it'd be best if we didn't cross paths anymore."

"Mickie, wait. Now look, I know that things may be a little awkward between you guys, but if you show to them that you've broken away from Jericho and changed back into your old self, I'm sure that they'd forgive you in a heartbeat." Sabin replied.

She sighed. "It's not that simple, Chris. And even if Alex forgives me, it's not like AJ ever will. I took her title away from her. She'll probably hate me for life."

"No she won't." he said calmly. "AJ's not the kind of person who'd hate anyone. Look, just give her some time and things will change."

"But what if they don't?" she asked, before seeing a light from behind Chris. "Chris, behind you!"

He whipped around and called, "Who's there?"

"Sabin, it's me." Alex said, joining the two. "And—Mickie? What are you doing here?"

"Long story. Did you guys find Kaitlyn?" she asked.

"We sure did, she and April should be waiting in the car, so let's get the hell outta here."

As they did, though, it was too dark for any of them to see that there was a break in the floor that they were standing on, and below that floor was nothing but freezing cold water, which was pouring into the room through a low window. Mickie missed her step, though, and ended up falling down a few feet and into the water with a splash.

"_AAAAAAHHH!" _she shrieked.

Chris and Alex rushed to the edge, looking down to find her. "MICKIE!" they called.

"Hey, you all right? Can you climb up?" called Sabin.

She tried, but cried out in pain once she grabbed her leg. "Oh God, I think I sprained my leg or something, I can't get up!" she called.

Seeing that the water down there was rising up fast, Chris and Alex had to work quickly to save her before she could possibly catch hypothermia, or even worse, drown.


	104. Chapter 104

**Chapter 104**

"HELP!" Mickie cried, struggling to get out of the water-filled basement of the warehouse. "Get me out of here, please!"

"Hold on, Mickie—Just hold on!" Alex and Chris called at once.

"Her leg's hurting, how are we supposed to get her out of there?" Shelley asked.

Chris looked down at his ex-girlfriend in danger, saw a ladder that led down to the basement, and then looked back at his best friend. "I gotta go down there and get her out. You just stay up here and spot me, all right?"

"Sure thing. Just watch yourself, man."

He nodded and climbed down the ladder. "Mickie, I'm on my way down! I'll get you outta there in no time!"

"Oh Chris, please hurry, it's freezing!" she cried, looking up. Soon enough, he leapt down into the water and joined her, immediately wrapping an arm around her.

The sudden coldness of the water startled him, but he shoved that feeling aside to care for the Diva. "Ok, Mickie, I'm here. You ok there?"

She nodded, shivering. "I'm fine, let's just get out of here."

"You guys all right?" Alex called.

"Yeah, I got her, just be ready when I pull her back up!" Chris called back. "Ok, Mickie, I'm going to lift up your bad leg and you try your best to stand up, all right?"

"I can try."

"Ok, on three. One…two…three!"

Once he tried to lift her, though, she felt pain in her left leg and cried out, "AH! Chris, just let me back down, this isn't gonna work."

"Ok. Alex, change of plans! You need to go and call the paramedics because they're the only ones who'll be able to get us outta here. Hurry!" Chris called.

"You got it! You two just hang in there, you'll be outta there before you know it!" Shelley called back, heading off.

Chris turned to the shivering Diva beside him. "You hear that, Sweet Mickie? We'll be outta here in no time, I just need you to hang in there."

She nodded and leaned into him. "This is ironic, isn't it?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, first we were trapped in a cave together during that ski trip, and now we're trapped down in an abandoned basement together." she said, smiling a little. "Is it irony or fate?"

He chuckled a little. "Hmm. Maybe it's a little of both. Maybe the fact that you and I are always stuck together with our lives on the line is a message telling us that…we belong together." he replied, running a hand up and down her arm. "And y'know, we won't be able to make it through anything without each other."

"Well, Sabin, I already knew from the beginning that we belonged together." Mickie smiled back. "And for the record, I'm glad to be stuck here with you."

He smiled back and kissed her cheek. "I'm glad to be stuck here with you, too."

* * *

Meanwhile, Velvet was even more pissed off than before, since Chris, Alex, and AJ had left the arena without her, and since they took the rental car with them, she was forced to take a cab back to the hotel…

"I can't BELIEVE them!" she snapped, throwing her purse onto the bed. "They all left without me, I can't believe it! Who wants to bet that my boyfriend is running after his _Mickie_?...What does he see in her that he doesn't see in me? I had him first, why does _she _get to win his heart?" she muttered, flopping down on the bed, a few tears streaming down her face. "It's not fair…"

Then, there was a knock at the door.

"Oh, if they are standing behind that door, I am going to have a few choice words for—" Velvet stopped once she opened the front door to find Jericho. Her expression dropped. "What do you want?"

"Is Mickie in here?"

"Why the hell would I care where she is?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"Look, is she in here or not?"

"No, nobody's here! I had to take a cab back home because Chris, Alex, and AJ all took the rental car to God knows where." the blonde replied.

"Well, do you know if Mickie's with them?" Jericho demanded. "I last saw her back at the arena, but then she just up and left somewhere without me."

"Look, I don't know, nor care where she is. So you're asking the wrong girl." she replied, about to close the door on him.

"I swear, if she's hanging out with Sabin somewhere, he's totally going to get it from me." the Canadian muttered.

Velvet opened the door again. "Uh, were you just threatening my boyfriend?"

"Yes, I did. You need to keep him with you, because for some reason those two keep finding their way back to one another and frankly, I'm sick of it."

"Ok, listen. First things first, leave Chris alone, if you hurt him, I will hurt you." Velvet replied.

"Oh, you're gonna hurt me? Just what are you capable of doing to me, missy?" he asked with an amused smirk.

As a reply, she forcefully slapped him across the face, to where he stumbled back at bit.

"There's your answer. Now go away." the blonde finished.

Jericho chuckled bitterly and sent her a look before heading off.

Exasperated, Velvet sighed and took a seat on the couch. "Sab, where are you?" she whispered.

* * *

Back at the warehouse, AJ and Kaitlyn were still in the car, while Alex was standing outside and waiting for an ambulance or some kind of help to arrive. The worst of it was that they were waiting there for nearly an hour already.

"What's taking those guys so long to get here?" AJ demanded, while Kaitlyn rested her head on her best friend's lap. She was still a little traumatized from her kidnapping earlier, after all. "Alex, how are Chris and Mickie doing down there now?"

He sighed. "The water down there keeps filling in by the second. If we don't get those two outta there soon, there's no way they're gonna make it out without drowning first." he replied quietly, crossing his arms.

AJ noticed her boyfriend's expression and said, "Shells, we can't think the worst. We just have to hope that the paramedics get here in time and they'll save them."

"I know, but I feel so helpless. My best friend and someone who I thought of as a sister are trapped down in some basement, trying to stay alive! And there's literally nothing that I can do to help them." he said, climbing into the car and sitting in the driver's seat. "April, if anything happens to either one of them…" he trailed off.

"Alex." she began, combing a hand through his hair and holding him close. "Babe, stop thinking like that, ok? Look, I'm just as terrified as you are. Chris is my big brother and Mickie…even though I'm mad at her, I couldn't ever dream of losing her. She's always been like a sister to me, and no matter what she does, that'll never change."

Inside the basement, things seemed to be getting worse for Chris and Mickie, since the water was nearly up to their necks at this point. They were both freezing, but he tried to keep her as warm as possible to prevent her from catching hypothermia.

"H-How long has i-it been, Chris?" Mickie uttered, her skin looking a little pale.

"W-Was I supposed to k-keep track?" he asked with a small smile.

"Well, I s-sure wasn't!" she managed to laugh. "I-I'd kill for a nice, w-warm bed right a-about now."

"Y-Yeah, I'd kill for a nice, cup of coffee t-too. But y-you want to know a t-trick for staying warm w-when it's cold?" he asked, turning to her.

She nodded.

"All y-you gotta do is think of something l-like fire, or t-the sun, or e-even nearly g-getting hit by a car!"

Mickie laughed. "W-What does getting h-hit by a car have to do with s-staying warm?"

"It's a great distraction! I-I remember learning it from my group in summer camp." he uttered.

"Aww, I c-could picture you in your l-little camp uniform!" she exclaimed.

"No, you d-don't want t-to, I looked like a t-total dweeb." Chris chuckled.

"S-So? I think y-you still would've l-looked adorable a-as a dweeb."

"Well, wh-where were you 20 years ago w-when I needed ya?" he laughed.

"N-No, if you want to t-talk about looking l-like a dweeb, you s-should've seen me b-back when I was in the s-sunshine scouts." Mickie replied, turning to him.

He raised an eyebrow and had on an amused look. "Sunshine scouts?"

"Y-Yes! We h-had to wear t-these silly y-yellow sun dresses with t-these c-cheaply made sun hats, a-and all w-we did was sell s-sunshine cookies." she exclaimed, shivering. "I'd m-much rather have b-been playing in the mud and m-making mud pies."

"Hey, y-you used to make m-mud pies when y-you were little, t-too?" Chris asked, surprised. "I used to do that!"

"R-really?"

"Y-Yeah! Y'know, Mickie, you're t-the most beautiful, fun, and interesting girl I've ever met." he continued. "No matter w-what, I always have a good time with you."

The Country Diva smiled, but at the same time felt like she was beginning to lose consciousness. "Thanks, Chrismeister. And y-you're the cutest, funniest…oddest guy that I've ever met."

He chuckled. "Oddest?"

"Mm hmm." she replied, trailing off. "…but that's what I l-love about you…"

Seeing that her eyes were closing, he began to shake her. "Mickie? Mickie, come on, stay with me here. I am not going to lose you this way." he cried.

Her eyes fluttered open and she replied, "Sab, I'm so cold…"

"I know, I know. But please, just try to keep yourself awake for me, all right? I promise, I won't let anything happen to you."

She managed to giggle. "Y-You don't give up, do you?"

"You kidding? I'm Chris Sabin, I never quit. And you're not quitting either because I need you here to bail me out whenever I get stopped by the cops." he joked.

Mickie laughed and smiled back. "Damn right, you need me." Once he chuckled back and held her as close as possible, she could feel her eyelids getting heavy once again and she uttered, "Chris…once you stop shivering, that's a bad thing, right?"

He looked down at the ailing Diva and cried, "Oh, man. Ok, Mickie, just hang in there, please. C'mon, sweetheart, stay with me."

Fortunately, he began to hear a few sirens outside, and then heard Alex's voice call, "Chris, Mickie, you two all right?"

"I'm fine, but we gotta get Mickie outta here, she's totally out of it!" he called back.

"Ok, the paramedics are here, there's gonna get you both to the hospital now, just hang on!" he called.

Sighing in relief, he turned to Mickie and said, "See, beautiful, we're going to be saved now, and you're getting that nice, warm bed that you wanted. Just please, stay with me here, all right? Please."

His heart was breaking upon seeing her so weak, but soon afterwards, the two were safely rescued from the basement, and were taken to the nearest hospital there.

* * *

Later, the two were evaluated at the hospital, and Chris turned out completely fine. Mickie was being treated to make sure that she didn't catch any kind of hypothermia, but everything seemed to be ok for her aside from a sprained leg.

"Hey, man, you feeling all right?" Alex asked, joining him with a cup of coffee. "Here, you're gonna need this to get your strength back."

"Thanks. Yeah, I'm fine, but I'm just stoked that Mickie's all right. I don't think I've ever been more afraid in my life, seeing her fall in and out of consciousness." Chris replied with a sigh. "How's Kaitlyn doing, anyway?"

"She's back resting at the hotel. We still have to figure out who kidnapped her, though, because look at the mess all of this stuff caused for us tonight!" Shelley exclaimed, before turning to look at Mickie. "But for the record, I'm really glad that Mickie's gonna be ok."

"So does that mean you're not mad at her anymore?"

He crossed his arms and pondered for a moment. "How could I be? No matter what crap she's done with Jericho, deep down inside, she'll always be our Mickie, and she'll always be a part of the Guns. I just wish that Jericho the leech would get lost somewhere and leave her alone." he replied.

Next, AJ joined them. "Hey, guys. Chris, how you feeling?" she asked, giving him a hug and Alex a kiss.

"I've felt worse, sis." he replied, wrapping an arm around her.

The Diva smiled at him but then turned to Mickie, before her feelings turned to guilt. "How is she?"

"They're keeping her in overnight until she's 100%, but she should make a full recovery."

"I…I want to see her." AJ announced, joining Mickie in her room, with the Guns behind her.

Seeing them all, a smile crept onto her face. "Guns, Guns, and more Guns."

"Hey—How you feeling?" they asked at once.

"Well, I'm starting to get the feeling back into my legs and arms, so that's a good sign. I just really want to go back to the comfort of our hotel, though." she sighed.

"I don't blame ya. We've all had a rough night." AJ mustered a smile.

"Yeah." she nodded in agreement. "AJ…I know we're supposed to be like, hating one another right now, but it really means the world to me that you came to visit. You too, Alex."

"Hey!" Chris pouted, jokingly.

"Oh stop it, Chris, you've always been there for me." she smirked.

Alex chuckled and replied, "Hey, it's been pretty hard for us lately, but you're still my sister and nothing's ever going to change that."

"Same here." agreed AJ. "Mickie, I just want my best friend back, and I don't even care about the title mishap anymore! As long as you're still alive to be the Women's Champion, then I'm happy."

The Country Diva could feel the tears threatening to pour from her eyes and said, "Oh, you guys…you've had no idea how much I missed all of you, but as much as I've wanted to come back to you guys…I can't."

"Why?" asked Alex. "If it's because of Jericho, you need to leave this guy! He's already done enough crap to you as it is!"

"Guys, it is not that simple. I mean, he—" she began, but was cut off when her cell rang. "Who's calling?"

Chris picked up the phone first and saw that the call was from Jericho. Smirking a little, he answered, "Hello?"

On the other end, a puzzled Jericho asked, _"Sabin?"_

"The one and only."

"_What the HELL are you doing answering Mickie's phone?! I want to talk to her right now, so where is she?"_

"Jericho, why don't you have a chat with my good friend Tone first?" Sabin asked, hanging up on him before Jericho even had a chance to get the joke. "Well, we won't be hearing from him for the rest of the night." he smiled, eliciting laughs from the other three Guns.


	105. Chapter 105

**Chapter 105**

The day after the incident, Mickie was well enough to be released from the hospital, but both Jericho and Velvet were very unhappy that they were left out of the chain of events that had happened the previous night.

"Chris, will you stop making such a big deal out of this?!" Mickie demanded, pacing around their hotel room while he followed her.

"Why _shouldn't_ I be making a big deal out of this, Mickie?" Jericho demanded back. "For God's sakes, first you leave the arena without me, then you're out missing for hours on end, I have no idea that you're trapped in some basement nearly drowning, and to top it all off, you just _happened_ to run into Sabin again!"

"HEY, if it wasn't for Sabin, I wouldn't even be here right now!" Mickie snapped, whipping around to face him. "So instead of being pissed at him, maybe you should be thanking him for being a hero!"

"Why would I ever thank the guy who's trying to steal my girlfriend away from me?" he cried.

"He's not trying to steal anyone! God, Jericho, I was just in the hospital 24 hours ago and instead of trying to comfort me, you're snapping at me and throwing pointless accusations!" she exclaimed.

He sighed and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Mickie, listen to me. The fact that you were out there in danger without me there to help, scared the hell outta me. I had no idea where you were, and…I couldn't ever live with myself if I'd lost you."

The Diva bit her lower lip and felt a little bad for yelling at him, and then replied, "Hey, I'm fine now, and I appreciate the concern. But that doesn't take away the fact that you can't stand me hanging out with Chris. You can't just make me stay away from him! He is my best friend, and you are just going to have to accept it."

"How can I accept someone who betrayed you in the worst possible way?"

"He apologized for it and it happened months ago! Can't we just leave the past in the past and move on?" she demanded.

"Mickie, look. I know what I'm saying when he's bad news. If you keep 'hanging out' with him, old feelings are going to return, he's going to eventually hurt you again, and I'm just trying to prevent that from happening again!"

"You don't know Chris! Jeez, he's genuinely sorry and I'm ready to finally forgive him." she replied. "And I don't care what you say or think, I'm going to hang out with him whether you like it or not."

"Mickie—" he began.

"In fact, I just may go out and visit him right now!" she smiled evilly, grabbing her purse and headed for the door.

"Damn it, Mickie, if you leave here and go back to see him, you're just going to throw away our whole entire relationship!" he called.

As a reply, she sent Jericho a look, scoffed, and then walked right out of the room, leaving an angry Canadian behind.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the Guns' hotel room…

"I can't believe you were with her, Chris! Because of her, you could've died!" Velvet snapped to Sabin.

"Hey, Velvet, stop twisting things around! If I weren't there, _she _would've died, and there's no way in hell I would EVER let that happen!" he argued.

"It was Mickie's fault that she was in the warehouse in the first place!"

"And she didn't know that she'd end up nearly drowning!" he snapped back. "Velvet, are you just pissed at me because I never got a chance to call you last night?"

She crossed her arms. "That's part of it. Plus there's the fact that I had to take a cab back to the hotel AND how I had no damn clue that my boyfriend was somewhere on the other side of town fighting for his life and RISKING his for someone who doesn't deserve you."

He crossed his arms as well and couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Wow, Vel. That's mature, that's real mature. For your information, last night Alex, AJ, and I went out looking for Kaitlyn at first because she was kidnapped and left behind by someone who we're still trying to find. But of course you wouldn't care about that since the only person you care about is yourself."

The blonde gave him a look. "Now you know that's a lie."

"Whatever. So when I split up to look, Mickie just happened to be there getting the space from Jericho that she so desperately needs, and we decided to stick together." he began.

Out in the hall, Mickie just happened to be walking by their room, and once she heard her name, she stopped by and listened.

"When she fell through to the bottom of that basement, my first instinct was to rescue her and that's exactly what I did. I didn't even care if I wasn't going to make it out of there alive, Vel! My main concern was for Mickie, like it always has been, and like it always will be."

Outside, the Diva blushed and couldn't help but to smile.

Inside, Velvet WASN'T smiling. "Is this supposed to make me feel any better, Chris? Because it certainly isn't." she said shakily.

"I'm not trying to torment you! I'm just telling you everything that happened last night and that's it. I wasn't there to talk to you because I was out taking care of Mickie." he replied.

"Like you always have been. I'm really getting sick of this broken record that keeps repeating! 'You're always going to be there for Mickie!' 'She's your BEST friend'! Well, things change, Chris, because I'M your girlfriend, and I'm supposed be your number one priority, not her!" Velvet cried. "And the bottom line is, I don't want you anywhere near her anymore."

He scoffed. "Are you really bagging on me about this again?" he asked quietly.

"Yes, I am, because you clearly don't understand who your girlfriend is anymore."

Chris nodded. "Yeah. Maybe you're right."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means, I'm going out for a walk to clear my thoughts. Alone." he replied, heading for the door.

"Fine, Chris, if you're going to run away from your problems here, then be my guest! I'll be waiting for my apology when you get back here."

Sighing, he looked back at her and simply replied, "Ok." before heading out.

Seeing the door opening, Mickie rushed away down the hall, but was caught by Sabin.  
"…Mickie?" he asked with an amused smile.

She shyly turned around. "I uh, wasn't standing by your door listening in, by the way."

He chuckled. "Ah, it's ok, Micks. Did our argument entertain you in any way?"

"I just felt horrible for you. Chris, why are you letting her take control of your life? You're free to do whatever the hell you want to do!" she exclaimed.

"Oh, I know that I am! That's why I'm using this time to get some space from her. So uh, I assume that you're getting some more space from Jericho as well?"

"You got it. He has the nerve to blame you for what happened to me last night, when you were the one who saved me! And I'm pissed off at him for saying that I can't see you anymore." she said, crossing her arms.

Chris smiled a little. "And I'm pissed at Velvet for saying that I can't see you anymore, either." he replied, shoving his hands into his pockets.

The Country Diva cutely twirled a strand of her hair and said, "Y'know, I forgot how hot you looked when you're angry."

"You look hot when you're angry, too." he chuckled, eying her down. "In fact, everything about you is…hot."

She nodded. "Same to you. Hey, Sab, let's go out and do something together. That'll piss off Jericho and Velvet for sure."

"That sounds great, but you know what would really piss off those two?" he asked with a devilish smile.

"What?"

He replied by wrapping his arms around her waist and slowly pulling her in for a kiss filled with passion, when the Diva responded by wrapping her arms around his neck, deepening the kiss. Breaking away for a moment, the two completely forgot about Jericho and Velvet and were focused on one another instead, before crashing into a more passionate kiss than before. Mickie's hands instinctively reached for Chris's shirt, trying to rip it off of him, but first he stopped her by saying, "Not in the hall. They'll catch us."

"Where else are we supposed to go?" she whispered.

He looked around and then found the empty elevator about to close. "C'mon!" he cried, taking her hand and rushing themselves inside before the double doors closed. Finally alone, Chris opened the elevator's fuse box, and pulled a switch to freeze the elevator in its place. Smirking, he turned to her and said, "Are you sure you want to do this, Mickie?"

She nodded, her fingers hooking onto the collar of his shirt. "I need this, Chris, and I need you."

"I need you, too. Screw what everyone else thinks, let's have us a little fun while we can." the Detroit native replied, before kissing the side of her neck while she went on to remove his shirt and carelessly tossed it aside. He went on to remove her shirt, her hands unhooked his belt and unzipped his jeans, while his hands roamed up her leg and under her skirt. Once clothes were shed, the two had absolutely no clue that they were about to have the most mind-blowing secret sex at that very moment. And the fun part – neither Velvet nor Jericho had to know a damn thing.


	106. Chapter 106

**Chapter 106**

The next Monday during Raw, AJ was still very concerned with the mystery behind who had kidnapped Kaitlyn the previous week, and most importantly, why they did it. Now in the Guns locker room, the Diva was mindlessly staring at herself in the mirror and doing her makeup, while Chris and Alex were chatting it up…

"Dude, you and Mickie did WHAT?" Alex asked with a surprised smile.

He smirked. "We had some crazy elevator sex the other day. And the day after that, we did it in our rental car, and the day after that, we even did it in the park when nobody was around."

"Sabin, you freak!" Alex laughed, punching him on the arm. "Wait, does Velvet or Jericho even know about this?"

"Not a clue. Dude, we've been so sick and tired of those two harassing and bossing us around that we just decided to have some fun and have an affair behind their backs." he replied. "What they don't know won't hurt em."

"So does this mean this is the end of you and Velvet and I'll never have to deal with Scary Spice ever again?!" Shelley asked excitedly.

"Maybe…maybe it is the end of us. Dude, I dunno, I thought I really loved Velvet, but lately I've been more in love with Mickie than I've ever been before and I've been less in love with Velvet. I just hope that Mickie feels the same." replied Sabin.

"I'm sure she does, bro. But even if you're just like friends with benefits now, I'm really happy for you both."

"Thanks, Shells, I'm happy, too. Just promise not to spill a word of this to Velvet, ok? She can't know a thing." he said.

"Yeah, yeah, sure." he agreed, before turning to his girlfriend who was still staring in the mirror.

"AJ, everything all right there, sis?" Chris asked, concerned. "You've been standing there for the last 20 minutes!"

"Yeah, babe, you're already beautiful, you don't need to stand there all night." agreed Alex.

"Sorry, guys, but I'm just desperate to find the creep who took Kaitlyn last week." she replied, turning to them. "I have never seen her more terrified before, and tonight, she didn't even want to come in to work."

"Did she stay back at the hotel?" asked Chris.

"Yeah! She's too afraid that if she comes back here, the same will happen again." she nodded. "I want to find the jerk who did this to my best friend and I'm going to stop him myself."

Alex stood up. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, babe, wait. I'm not letting you go after some dangerous guy all by yourself, what if the same thing happens to you?"

"I'll just fight him off."

"That's not enough to stop someone who's probably a lot bigger and stronger than you! And I'm sure as hell not letting you find this guy on your own where you'll probably end up getting kidnapped to God knows where, too." he replied, crossing his arms.

"But Alex, I need to do this for Katie!" she cried. "And I need to do this before he does the same to anybody else!"

He placed his hands on her shoulders to calm her down. "April, baby, I know you mean well and want to do the right thing, but there are times when you just have to stay out of it for your own good. I can't afford you getting hurt by this guy or even worse, ok, so just listen to me."

"He's right, sis." agreed Chris. "Everyone knows about the kidnapping, so I'm sure that everyone's on the watch for whoever did this. Just hang around with us and you'll be safe."

She sighed. "Ok, ok."

Alex kissed her forehead. "Now Chris and I have a match soon and to be on the safe side, you should hang out with someone else until we come back, cause I don't want you in here alone. Ok?"

"Yeah, I'll stay with Britani." she nodded.

"Awesome. So dude, let's go out there and kick some ass, shall we?" asked Chris.

"We shall." Alex replied, giving AJ a kiss before Chris gave her a hug. "I love you."

"I love you, too." she smiled back.

"Now remember, you stay with Britani and don't wander off on your own! That's an order from your big brother!" Sabin said, pointing a stern finger towards her as the Guns headed off.

"I will, I promise!" she called back. But once they were out of sight, she said to herself, "…As soon as I do a little investigating."

Then, she looked around before approaching Johnny's office door. Peeking inside, she was glad to see that the room was empty and that the door was unlocked.

Quietly sneaking inside, she looked around for any evidence linking anyone to Kaitlyn's kidnapping, but didn't find anything until she brushed over a folder on Johnny's desk which read, 'CONFIDENTIAL'.

"Hmm. Looks like he wants whatever in this folder to be kept a secret. Well, let's just take a little peek inside." she said, opening the folder. Reading over a bulleted list of names and plans, she gasped, seeing all the evidence. "This was all Laurinitis's idea, I knew it! He was the one responsible for getting Kaitlyn taken away! But…why her?" she asked herself.

"She was just used as a pawn. For me to send a message to you and your little Guns." a familiar hoarse voice replied behind her.

Gasping, she quickly stuffed the papers into his folder and shoved it aside, turning around to face Laurinitis, Del Rio, and Eve, the latter two of the three standing behind their boss. "Mr. L!" AJ cried nervously.

He eyed her down. "Don't you know that it's wrong to break into people's offices without their permission?"

"I—I wasn't breaking in! I uh, I was just looking for you!" she lied, trying to inch her way out of the room.

"Drop the act, missy. You were in here snooping through my personal business, and little lady…" he began, approaching her while she backed away in fear. "…don't you know that you could get yourself in a world of trouble for doing such a thing?"

"Look, my best friend Kaitlyn was kidnapped last week, and I needed to find out who did it!" she argued back. "And now, my suspicions were right. You were the one who planned it all. She didn't even do anything to you or anyone, so why do you need to use her to send us a message? Can't just man up and do it yourself?"

He frowned. "You better shut your mouth before you get yourself hurt."

"Oh, are you gonna hurt me? I dare you to hit me!" the tiny Diva exclaimed, urging him to make his move. "Come on!"

The GM snickered evilly and replied, "Oh, _I'M _not the one who's going to hurt you. Alberto? Eve?"

The two smiled and approached the Diva, whose eyes widened and she quickly tried to back away from them.

"AJ, I'm terribly sorry that I have to do this, but you need to be taught a lesson on why you should stay out of other people's business. Eve, Alberto, take care of her, will you?" Johnny asked, while his two allies each grabbed AJ by the arms and led her to the back of the office, ready to inflict some serious pain onto her.

"No, NO! No, I'm sorry, ok, I'm sorry!" she called in the distance while a sick smile grew on Johnny's face.

* * *

Later, after the Guns' match, the boys had returned backstage…

"Great work out there, bud." Alex said, patting Chris on the back.

"Same to you, my brother." he agreed. "So after the show, you want to—"

He froze once he saw Mickie and Jericho heading their way. He was holding her hand and looking pretty mad, and sent the Guns a look before heading past them and down the hall. Mickie told him, "Uh, babe, I'm gonna stop to get a drink from the vending machine, ok?"

"Yeah, go ahead."

"K." she lied, looking back once more before turning to the Guns. "Chris…" she sighed happily, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him in for a passionate kiss while Sabin eagerly wrapped his arms around her waist and returned the kiss.

Alex's eyes widened and he smiled. "This is truly an awesome sight." he announced. "Especially since Jericho's right around the freaking corner."

The two broke away and sent him a smile.

"That's the fun of it." Mickie told him, before turning to Chris. "Where's Velvet?"

"Back at the hotel, so we don't have to worry about her. So what are we doing tonight?"

"Hmm…let's meet at my room tomorrow morning when Jericho has to leave. I'll text you." the Diva replied.

"Awesome." Sabin smiled, giving her a little spank on the ass before she left. "You're sexy, you know that?"

She laughed and turned back to him, saying, "You're sexier!"

Once she was out of sight, Alex laughed and wrapped an arm around his friend's shoulders. "Y'know, if you guys pull this off without ever getting caught, I'll never look at you the same way again, dude." he said.

Chris chuckled back. "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

"Oh, it's good, very good." he nodded, but his expression fell once he saw the blonde knockout walking down the hall and headed their way. "And that's NOT good."

"What the hell is she doing here?" Chris whispered.

"I dunno, but at least she didn't just catch you and Mickie in the act." Alex replied quickly.

"Hey, Chris." Velvet said, twiddling her fingers. She turned to Alex. "Shellfish." she said flatly.

"Hyena." he muttered, rolling his eyes.

"Uh, Vel, what are you doing here? I thought you were back at the hotel." Sabin wondered.

"Well, uh, I'll leave you two alone, I'm gonna go and grab April." Alex announced, patting Chris on the shoulder and whispering to him, "Good luck."

Velvet continued, "I was at the hotel, but I was...I was missing you too much, Chris. We've been doing nothing but fighting lately and I just want it to stop. I want things between us to go back the way they were."

Chris didn't know how to reply, so he slowly nodded his head in reply.

"I love you, babe, and you know that." she finished, wrapping her arms around him in a hug. When he hugged her back, he saw that Mickie had turned the corner to pick up something that she had dropped, and she looked up to find Chris gazing at her and replying directly to her, "I love you, too."

The Country Diva smiled and blew him a kiss.

* * *

Meanwhile, Alex had headed to Britani and Punk's locker room to look for his girlfriend…

"Hey, B, how's it going?" he asked her.

"Hey, Alex, just waiting for my Punkers to come back from his match. What do you need?" the British Diva asked.

He looked around the room and hadn't seen a sign of his girlfriend. "Where's April?"

"April?"

"Yeah, wasn't she in here with you?" he asked.

"No, I haven't seen her all night." she replied.

Now, Alex was getting worried. "She told me that she'd be in here with you while Chris and I were out for our match."

"Well, she never showed up here."

"Aw, damn it, I told her not to go wandering off on her own after what happened to Kaitlyn last week!" he cried.

"Wait, you think that she may have gotten kidnapped, too?" she asked, afraid.

"I hope to God not. I gotta go and find her." he cried, rushing out into the hall. Chris soon joined him and saw the panicked look on his best friend's face.

"Whoa, Alex, what's going on?"

"April never went to Britani's room and she hasn't seen her anywhere." he said, the worry becoming evident on Sabin's face as well.

"All right, let's go and find her." he agreed, running alongside him. The two first asked everyone they knew where and if they saw her, and none of them apparently did. After scouting the place inside and out, the two ended up outside and in the parking lot.

"APRIL!" Alex called, jogging around.

"AJ! Sis, where are ya?" Chris called. "AJ!"

"APRIL!" Shelley cried even louder. "Oh God, I can't believe this is happening to her. I-I need to find her, she HAS to be around here!"

"We're gonna find her, man, we're gonna find her. Don't freak out, just stay calm." Sabin replied.

"How the hell can I stay calm when my girlfriend's MISSING?!" he demanded.

After they walked past a few cars, the boys saw a familiar figure lying on the ground, right next to their own rental car.

"A-April?" Alex said quietly, shocked to find that it was her. "APRIL!"

"AJ!" Chris called as the two rushed to her. "Hey, sis, can you hear us?"

Alex held her head in his lap and quickly checked for a pulse. "She's still breathing, thank God. Oh, baby, open your eyes, please…you gotta tell us who did this to you…" Since he'd never seen his girlfriend so helpless before, he seriously felt like he was going to cry. "Baby, I'm here now, please just say something, please…"

Soon after, her eyes fluttered open and she responded with a soft groan.

"April?" he asked with hope.

"Hey, sis, just take it easy. Everything's all right, we're here now." Chris said, patting her leg.

"Chris, Alex…" she groaned, before immediately holding her back in pain. "Ow! Oh God…"

"What happened? Who did this to you?" Shelley asked, combing back her hair.

Suddenly remembering everything, tears welled in her eyes. "I—I went to Johnny's office to try and look for any evidence. Y'know, to see if he was behind Kaitlyn's kidnapping, and he was! But he caught me snooping around and he…he sent Del Rio and Eve to attack me."

Chris was speechless and turned to Alex, who was silently planning to kill them already. "What did they do to you?"

"They took me to the back of his office. Eve held me down and Del Rio grabbed a steel chair and kept…whacking it across my back again and again. He…God, he wouldn't stop…" she began to cry while Alex held her tighter. "It was just to the point where I totally blacked out and, well here I am." she finished, wiping away her tears.

"Ok. AJ, you stay here with Chris while I go and find Del Rio and murder him." Shelley announced, getting up and headed towards the arena, but before he could go anywhere, Chris stopped him.

"Alex, now's not the time to go after him!"

"The son of a bitch put his hands on my girlfriend, I'm going in there to kill him!" he yelled back.

Sabin pulled him back and calmly said, "Alex, you have every right to be angry, but AJ's the most important issue here. First things first, we take her to a hospital to get her back checked out. After that, we deal with Del Rio. All right?"

He reeled on the inside and nodded.

"Ok, now let's get going." he finished, helping AJ in the car before the three drove off to the nearest hospital. The only thing that Alex was thinking at the moment, though, was how Del Rio was going to be a dead man after he got through with him.


	107. Chapter 107

**Chapter 107**

After AJ's altercation, the Guns had taken her to the nearest hospital to get her back checked out. Now, the boys were sitting in the waiting room, waiting to hear how she was doing…

Both Chris and Alex were sitting in silence, not getting the Diva's attack out of their minds. Sabin then turned to Shelley. "Hey. How you holding up?"

He was blankly staring down at his hands, which were hurting due to him clenching them so tightly. "I don't know, Sab. I can't stop thinking about April lying motionless on the ground like that. She's the love of my life, man, I don't ever want to see her like that again." he said quietly.

"I know, man, I know. It killed me just as much to see my sister so hurt. But what I don't get is why the hell Laurinitis has to think that he has to have her beaten to send a message! She's a woman! And any guy who has the need to put their hands on a woman deserves to rot in hell. That shit pisses me off." Chris replied, shaking his head.

"And that's exactly why we're tracking down Del Rio first of all. We're gonna demand why the hell he did what he did, and after that, we're going to kill him." Shelley replied truthfully. "Nobody puts their hands on my girl and lives."

"That's right. We'll make sure that she'll get the justice that she deserves." Chris agreed, before feeling his phone vibrate. He saw that Velvet had left him a message that read,

"_Chris! Where the hell R U? You left me alone at the arena AGAIN and I had to take another cab back to the hotel! You have no idea how pissed I am right now!"_

He rolled his eyes at the message and then caught a new message from Mickie that read,

"_Hey, Sab, how are you? :) I miss U already!"_

He texted back, _"Hey, beautiful, not doing so well. At the hospital w/Alex."_

She replied, _"What? Is everything ok?"_

"_We're fine, but we're here for AJ. Del Rio and Eve attacked her earlier with a steel chair and now she's getting her back checked out."_

"_Oh no! I want to be there for her, what hospital are you guys at?"_

"_Mickie, no. I don't want you to leave Jericho or else he'll be suspicious. Plus, we shouldn't be here all night and I'm sure that AJ will be just fine."_

"_Are U sure?"_

"_Positive." _Chris texted back.

"_Ok, well, give her my best wishes for a speedy recovery!"_

"_Will do! Thanks for the chat, Sweet Mickie. U cheered me up. :D"_

"_I'm glad that I did. :D"_

After he sent her an emoticon of a rose to her, she sent him a virtual kiss in reply before he smiled and closed his phone. Moments later, a doctor joined the two.

"Hey, how's my girlfriend doing?" Alex asked anxiously, standing up along with Chris.

"Well, we just got the X-Ray results back and I see absolutely nothing wrong with her or her back. She's getting changed now, so she's free to head back home." he replied as the boys sighed in relief.

"Oh, thanks Doc, you have no idea how happy we are to hear that." Chris replied.

"No prob. Her back will be in pain for the next couple of days, though, so just make sure she doesn't put too much stress on herself and make sure that she also keeps an ice pack back there to keep down any swelling." he instructed.

"Understood, Doc. Thanks a lot." Alex smiled with a nod.

He nodded back, and soon after, AJ arrived and joined the boys. "Oh, guys…" she sighed, wrapping them both in a hug at the same time while they tightly hugged her in reply.

"Hey, trooper, how you feeling?" Chris asked, tassling her hair.

"I'm still in a little bit of pain, but I'm just happy that I don't have to hang around here overnight." she replied. "I hope you guys weren't worrying too much over me." she said with a cute smile.

"Babe, how could we not worry about you? You had me scared to death, April, and I'm just so happy that you're ok." Alex replied, giving her another hug and a sweet kiss. "So, you ready to head back to the hotel?"

"Sure am. But um, what are you guys going to do?" she asked. "Cause I know that neither of you can even think about sleep after what Del Rio did to me."

Chris and Alex exchanged looks before Chris said, "We might be out for a little while to take care of some business, but we'll be back as soon as we can."

She nodded and got their message. "Ok. Guys, please…kick Del Rio's ass for me."

The Guns nodded back. "We'll do more than that, baby. He's not getting away with what he did to you." Alex replied, taking her hand as they headed out of the hospital.

"We won't let you down, sis." Chris agreed.

* * *

About an hour or two later, AJ was back at the hotel, sleeping the day's events away, while Alex and Chris were driving around town and looking for Alberto…

"You see him anywhere, man?" Chris asked, while Alex was in the driver's seat.

"Hmm…not yet. Not many cars out on the road this late."

"Well, the first expensive looking car we see, I'd bet money that it's him." he replied.

Once a Porsche came into view and turned down an intersection, Alex took a closer look and said, "That's him. Hold on, I'm gonna corner him."

He sped up their car and then swerved so that they skidded to a stop, right in Alberto's path, causing him to skid to a stop just in time. Sticking his head out of the window, he called, "What the HELL do you two think you are doing?!"

The Guns wasted no time in dealing with him.

"GET out of the car!" Alex yelled, stepping out of the driver's side while Chris stepped out of the passenger's side.

"What?" the aristocrat demanded.

"Can't hear us, buddy? Get your ass out of the car!" Chris yelled, not giving him a chance to get out himself when both he and Alex pulled Del Rio out of his own car.

"HEY! What is the meaning of this?" Del Rio demanded.

The Guns' response was a kick in the gut by Shelley and a kick to the back by Sabin.

"You know exactly what you did, you son of a bitch and you're DEAD!" Alex yelled, kicking him more roughly, when Alberto was forced to kneel to the ground.

"Look, I—I don't know why you punks are doing this, but I'm going to call the cops on the both of you and lock you up for assault!" he called.

"Shut up!" Chris snapped, Irish whipping him across the chest. After that, both he and Alex backed him up to an alley wall, pinning him down when Alex said first, "Now look. I'm going to ask you a simple question, and I want you to give me a truthful answer, ok?"

"I don't have to answer to you—UH!" he was cut off when they slammed him against the wall more roughly.

"OK?!" Alex repeated.

He nodded.

"Ok. Did Laurinitis put you up to attacking my girlfriend AJ just a few hours ago at the arena?" he asked slowly. "Yes, or no?"

"Well, he—I—he wanted me to-"

"YES OR NO?!" he screamed.

"Yes! Yes, he did, and I was the one who hit her with the steel chair." he confessed, making the boys' blood boil. Then, a sadistic smirk grew on Alberto's face. "And I liked it. No, I LOVED it! I loved hitting her across the back with that chair and seeing her scream in mercy! She deserved every hit for not choosing me anyway!"

"Son of a BITCH!" Alex yelled, sending a slew of punches and kicks at the taller man, while Chris held him down and did the same. After double teaming him with a Russian legsweep, Alberto crashed face first to the concrete, giving him a bloody nose in the process. After that, the boys moved him to a bicycle rack, where Alex held back Del Rio's arms, allowing Chris to tie them together with a belt and preventing him from moving.

"Let me GO!" Alberto cried out.

While he was doing this, Alex forcefully turned Del Rio's head and screamed in his face, "We're going to kill you. We are GOING TO KILL YOU! _Do you understand what I'm telling you?!_"

He backed that statement up by superkicking him in the face.

"You think you're better than ME?! You think you're better than US?! Huh? HUH?! You think you can get away with hurting my girlfriend, you son of a bitch?! IT'S OVER!" he continued, slapping his face away. "You make me sick!"

Chris grabbed Del Rio by the collar and yelled next, "What are you gonna do now, huh? WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO?! WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO?! You think you can just hurt my little sister like that and get away with it? Punk BITCH!"

He finished that up with a second superkick to the face.

Del Rio was in and out of consciousness, but slurred, "She DESERVED it!"

A fuming Chris and Alex looked at one another and had nothing more to say to the Mexican, and in response, they simultaneously superkicked him in the face, knocking him out for sure.

The two were left breathing heavily while they observed their enemy in a damaged slump, and Alex was just about ready to attack him again just for the hell of it. Before he could, though, Chris held him back. "Alex, hey, hey! I think he got our message, let's just leave him here."

Shelley couldn't take his eyes off of Del Rio and called while Chris led him away, "I dare you to go near her again, I DARE you! TRY ME! _I'M GONNA KILL YOU…!"_


	108. Chapter 108

**Chapter 108**

The next week at Raw, things between the Guns and Team Johnny would get worse…

A pissed off Alberto Del Rio stormed into Johnny's office, sporting tape over his broken nose. Johnny looked up from his desk, surprised. "Alberto? What happened to you?"

"What happened to me? You want to know what _happened _to me?! Last week, after I beat that little AJ senseless, Shelley and Sabin ambush me in a senseless attack! They threatened me, they said that they were going to kill me!" he cried.

Johnny reeled on the inside and slammed down his stack of papers. "What else did they do?" he asked quietly.

"They broke my nose, _ese, _my NOSE! Then, they tied me up so that I was defenseless, while they continued to beat me senseless!" he explained. "I want them both to pay, and I want them to pay dearly!"

The GM nodded. "Ok, I'll have something arranged to take care of those two punks. If they want to send us a message, we'll just send them a bigger one." he said surely, dialing a number on his cell.

* * *

In the Guns locker room…

"How's your back feeling, babe?" Alex asked, giving AJ a massage.

She smiled. "Alex, you ask me that every five minutes."

"Well, I have to. With me being the concerned boyfriend that I am, I gotta make sure that you're 100% again. So how's your back feeling?" he asked with a smile of his own.

The Diva looked up at him and replied, "Well, let's say that it wouldn't have gotten better without the help of my amazing boyfriend and my awesome brother. And I really have to thank the both of you for taking care of Del Rio for me."

"Yeah, no prob. After beating his ass to a pulp, I have a feeling that he won't be messing with us anymore." agreed Chris.

Just then, Punk knocked on their door and came into their locker room. "Hey guys. AJ, I heard about what Del Rio did to you last week. Are you feeling better?"

She smiled while he gave her a hug. "Much better, thanks."

"I knew he was a bastard, but not this cruel! Why'd he target you like that?" the Straightedge Superstar asked.

"Simple. He was ordered to do it by Laurinitis after he caught me snooping in his office and looking for evidence to see who was behind Kaitlyn's kidnapping." she answered. "Big Johnny's not man enough to face me himself, so he had to send Del Rio and Eve to do all his dirty work."

"Of course. I swear, if that bastard wasn't practically my boss, I'd freaking kill him, man!" Punk sighed.

"Well, dude, we took care of Del Rio that same night." replied Alex.

"How?"

"We cornered him, took him to an alley, and beat the shit out of him."

"Aw, nice…" he chuckled and nodded. "Well, look, I'm just glad that you guys are all right. And if any of em bother you guys again, remember to give me a call, cause I'll be there to back you up in a heartbeat."

The three shared knuckle punches with him while Alex agreed, "We'll take you up on that offer, man."

In the meantime, Chris had looked up to see Mickie heading down the hall, and smiled. "Uh I'll be back in a sec or two, I gotta go and meet up with Mickie." he said, heading out.

Punk raised an eyebrow in confusion. "…Did he just say what I think he just said?"

"Yep. Look, you gotta swear not to tell anyone else this." began Shelley.

He held up a hand. "I swear."

"Well, for the last couple of weeks, turns out that Mickie's sick and tired of being with Jericho, while Sabin's sick and tired of being with Velvet. So what do they do? Of course! They decide to have an affair behind their backs." he announced, grinning.

"Dude, are you serious?" Punk asked with a smile.

"As serious as my name. Those two have been doing the dirty in every place you can possibly think of, and Jericho and Velvet don't have a damn clue."

"Ah, wow, that's a gutsy move by the both of em. But hell, if Jericho gets hurt, I'm all for it!" Punk exclaimed. "So wait…since Mickie's straying away from Jericho, does this mean that she's back to her old self again?"

Alex and AJ exchanged smiles. "Well, I've forgiven her." Shelley replied.

"So have I." she agreed.

"Wow. You know what, I gotta talk to her later on. Maybe this'll be a great chance to get one of my closest friends back." Punk said with a genuine smile.

* * *

In the hall…

"Mickie!" Chris called.

She turned around and smiled. "Chris, hey!" she exclaimed, giving him a kiss.

"Hey. What's been going on with you, we haven't texted all week."

"I'm sorry, Sab. Turns out that my phone got broken a couple of days ago." the Country Diva replied.

"Ah, man. How'd it get broken?"

She sighed and looked down. "Jericho threw it against a wall." she said quietly.

His eyes widened a little. "What?"

"He and I got in another argument and in the heat of the moment, he snatched my phone and smashed it to pieces against the wall." she said, tearing up. "Chris, I had some very important stuff on that phone that I may never get back! Numbers, pictures…pictures of us…"

"Oh, Micks, I am so sorry." he sighed, wrapping her in a tight hug. "He had absolutely no right to do that to you."

"You're right, he didn't. And that's exactly why I need you right now. I'm so—so _angry_ at him and I want him to pay for what he did—"

She was stopped with a kiss from Sabin, and after they broke away, he said with a devilish smile, "Trust me, beautiful. He's gonna pay for what he did once he loses you to me."

Lust took the Diva over once she nodded and seductively replied, "You are damn right, come here, big boy." before they wrapped themselves in a more passionate kiss, both of them fighting to rip off each other's clothes right then and there. Chris's hand reached back to grab a doorknob, which just happened to belong to a storage closet. Leading them both inside, he locked the door and began kissing her neck, muttering, "You can take all your anger out on me if you want to."

"Ooh," Mickie cried out once he kissed that sweet spot on her neck that drove her crazy. "I intend to." she began, whipping off his shirt and then moving on to undo his jeans.

* * *

Meanwhile, an angry and irate Jericho stormed the halls, pissed that Mickie had run out on him yet again.

"MICKIE?!" he shouted, looking in every room. "Mickie, I don't know what the hell's going on with you, but we need to talk! Mickie!" Then, he reached the Guns locker room and called, "Where's Mickie?"

Alex, AJ, and Punk hid their smirks and replied at once, "I don't know."

"Don't play dumb with me, where is—hey, where's Sabin?" he asked suspiciously.

"Why's it any of your business?" Alex asked back.

"Because I know that whenever Mickie disappears, he disappears, and they're usually somewhere together. Now where is he?" he asked slowly.

Not wanting to ruin his friend's plan, Punk improvised by saying, "Dude, you need to relax. He's nowhere near Mickie right now, because he stepped outside to chat with Velvet on the phone in the parking lot."

"And just why would he have to call her out in the parking lot?" Jericho asked back.

"Because phones get very great signals outside! Do you know nothing?" CM asked mockingly.

Jericho eyed them all down, said nothing, and left. Once he was out of earshot, the three bursted out laughing while AJ said, "Great cover, dude."

"Yeah, that was smooth." agreed Alex.

"Ah, I know, I know. Jeez, I wonder what those two are doing together, anyway." the tattooed man wondered.

In the closet, Sabin and Mickie were currently in the throes of passion, absolutely unaware that Jericho was headed in the direction of the storage closet that they were in. Walking ahead, Jericho swore that he heard strange sounds coming from the closet.

"_Ah, AH, AHH, oh God, oh GOD, YES…!"_ Mickie cried out from inside.

"What the…?" Jericho muttered, stepping closer to the closet. He also could've sworn that that was Mickie's voice that he was hearing, but before he could make any conclusions, a stagehand came up to him and said, "Jericho, you're needed in Mr. Laurinitis's office."

He nodded and looked back at the closet door, shaking his head in denial before he headed off.

A few minutes later, a disheveled, yet smiling Mickie and Chris made their way out of the storage closet, looking up and down the halls to make sure that nobody had caught them.

"That was great, maybe you oughta take your anger out on me more often." he chuckled.

She giggled cutely and ran a hand up and down his chest. "Anger sex is always the best kind. So uh, I better get back to Jericho before he goes out looking for me." she said, rolling her eyes.

He nodded. "I just wish that I didn't have to let you go back to him."

Giving him another sweet kiss, she replied, "Me, too. But I'll definitely see you around, ok, Sab?"

He spanked her and replied, "Count on it, sexy babe."

When he watched her walk off, he didn't see Alex, AJ, and Punk approach him from behind, smiling all the way.

"Oh, Sabin, you naughty boy, you." Alex chuckled.

Startled, he whipped around. "G-Guys! Jeez, how about warning a guy before you sneak up on him?"

"Don't worry, your secret's still safe with us." AJ replied, crossing her arms.

"Yeah, Alex told me about everything, dude—eh, and I promise to keep the secret as well,- but hey, I'm glad to see that you and Mickie are on the right page again, even if you guys are having an affair." Punk said.

"Thanks. We're having one hell of a time, anyway, so it's all good." he agreed.

"All right, uh, since the show's over, you guys want to head someplace to hang out?" asked Alex.

"I vote for the arcade!" AJ cried, raising her hand.

As they headed out of the back doors, Shelley exclaimed, "Well, it's ladies' choice, so the arcade it is!"

"Aw, but I wanted to go back to Petland." Chris sighed.

"Dude, what is with you and Petland?" Punk asked with a chuckle.

"That place is awesome!" he exclaimed defensively.

The four of them soon reached their rental car and climbed inside, before Alex said, "Ah, crap, I left my duffel bag in there. Be right back."

"How could you forget something as important as that, dillweed?" Chris called.

"Oh, shut up, Sabin! I'll only be a minute." the Detroit native replied, heading back to the building. But once he turned a corner and was about to go in, a strong pair of hands grabbed him by the collar and forcefully slammed him against the wall. A stunned Alex looked straight ahead to find none other than Del Rio pinning him against the wall.  
"Ah shit, I should've expected this." Shelley muttered.

"You're damn right, you should've expected this. Look what you and your little friend did to me!" he cried, pointing to his nose. "I haven't forgotten what you two have done to me last week, Shelley. And now, you are going to know what it feels like to be on the receiving end of a beating." he finished, once Dave Batista and Chris Jericho came into view behind him.

Alex closed his eyes and braced for impact, when Del Rio made the first move by forcefully kneeing him in the abdomen, knocking the wind out of him. While the Detroit native coughed a few times, Chris and Punk ran to the scene to try and save their friend. "Alex!" Chris called, when Jericho smirked and held him back. Dave held Punk back as he called, "Leave him alone, damn it!"

Del Rio sent them back a sick smile and called to Dave and Jericho, "Make those two watch as I pulverize their little FRIEND!" he snapped, emphasizing that last word with a rough punch across Shelley's face. He immediately felt his lower lip bleeding, and Chris and Punk were using all they could to break themselves free.

"Let him GO!" Chris snapped angrily.

After a few more minutes of rough punches and kicking, Shelley was nearly knocked unconscious before Del Rio finished him off with one swift punch across the jaw. After the beatdown, Alberto smirked, using his thumb to wipe away some of the blood from his enemy's lip, and finally, he, Jericho, and Dave let the boys go before rushing away. Alberto called, "Looks like the shoe is on the other foot NOW, HUH?! I WILL DESTROY YOU!"

Sabin and Punk rushed to Alex, who was trying to keep himself conscious, and tried to lift him up to his feet.

"Hey, Shelley, you all right, man? Can you walk straight?" Chris asked as Alex responded with a slight nod.

"Ok, man, let's get you back to the hotel now, all right? Aw man, AJ's gonna freak once she sees you this way." Punk sighed, once they headed back to the rental car.


	109. Chapter 109

**Chapter 109**

That night after Alex was the next to be attacked, AJ, Chris, and Punk got him back to their hotel room in one piece. Punk wanted to stay and help, but he had to head back to his and Britani's room to check on her. AJ, in the meantime, was an emotional mess.

"Easy does it there, dude. Comfy?" Chris asked, gently lying Alex down on the bed.

"I guess. Man, this night just turned from good to crap-tastic in a matter of minutes." Shelley sighed.

"Oh, I can't believe they did this to you, Shells…" the Diva sighed, quickly getting an ice pack and placing it under the bruise forming under his eye. Gazing at her boyfriend's handsome face that was roughed up, a few tears rolled down AJ's face as well. "I wish I just could've been there to stop them."

Alex saw her expression and felt bad, so he wiped away her tears and replied, "Hey, baby, you were safe where you were in the car. I'm glad that you didn't see what happened, cause I couldn't deal with seeing you getting hurt again."

She sniffled.

"I'm totally fine, princess, don't worry. I may have been a little roughed up, but I'm still your sexy boyfriend and that's how it's always going to be." he smiled.

She giggled in reply before she leaned in to give him a kiss. Chris smiled at his two best friends, but his smile faded once Velvet stepped out of the shower and locked eyes with him. "…And just where the hell were you THIS time?" she demanded.

"What?"

"You're late, Chris, you should've been home an hour ago! What's your excuse this time?"

"Excuse?!" he demanded, getting mad. "I never had any excuse for anything, we were out there late trying to save Alex from an attack!"

The blonde turned to Alex, before turning back to Chris. "You could've at least called me and told me where you were and what was going on!"

Seriously not believing her for a moment, he didn't know what to say when a pissed off AJ spoke for him. "Velvet, are you really that much of a selfish bitch?"

Stunned that this was coming from her, she cried, "Excuse me?"

"My boyfriend was ATTACKED tonight one week after I was attacked. We're all trying to deal with a major issue here and all you're concerned about is whether Chris comes home on time for _you?!_" the Diva demanded, approaching her. "You have no idea about all of the crap that we've all been dealing with lately, and for all we know, Chris may be the next one in our group to be on Johnny's hit list! God forbid anything happens to him, will you be concerned? Nah, you'll just keep on bitching and bitching about how he's not here spending enough time with YOU!"

"April—" Alex began, trying to pull her back, but she continued on with her anger fueled rant.

"It's all about YOU, ain't it, Velvet?" she asked, forcefully shoving her back. "Huh? Cause you're the one with a broken leg, everything and everyone has to revolve around you and you only! Well, you know what, screw you, Velvet!" the Diva finished, tears streaming down her face. "Screw…you."

Velvet had absolutely nothing to say to her after that, as her eyes were locked onto the smaller Diva's. After that, she stormed out of the bedroom and into the living room. Chris sighed for a moment and looked back at his friends. "You guys all right?"

Alex nodded and combed his fingers through AJ's hair. "That was intense." he announced.

"I can't freaking stand her anymore." AJ muttered, lying in Alex's embrace.

"Well, let me talk to her for a sec." Sabin replied, closing the door behind him as he joined Velvet, who was sitting on the couch and crossing her arms. She shot him a look.

"I can't believe she would ever talk to me that way." she announced.

He crossed his arms in reply. "You know, she had every right to be angry, Vel."

"I know, and I feel bad that Alex got attacked, but…she didn't have to say all of those things!"

"You know, you're my girlfriend and I feel that I'm _supposed_ to feel bad for you, but Vel, let's be honest, I just can't." Chris replied.

"…What?" she demanded after a pause.

"Everything that AJ said was absolutely right! You don't care about anyone but yourself, you don't care if anyone gets hurt or not! Look, you have a serious problem, Vel, and if you want this relationship to continue, you better fix it. That's all I gotta say." the Detroit native finished, heading back into the bedroom with his friends, leaving an upset blonde behind to think.

* * *

So throughout the next week, everything seemed to be going well for everyone. Alex and AJ were recovering from their recent attacks together, nobody would really put up with Velvet, so she stayed to herself, and Chris couldn't get Mickie out of his mind as usual, so as a nice gesture, he was able to buy her a brand new phone, to her delight. All she had to do to make sure that it wouldn't get broken or taken away from her, was keep it hidden from Jericho, and that wasn't an easy task. Next Monday during Raw, though, things would go back to the way they've been in recent weeks, and Johnny's group of men weren't nearly finished yet.

Alex, AJ, and Chris were watching CM Punk's match in their locker room, when Britani stopped by. "Hey, you guys!"

"Hey, B!—What's up?"

"I uh, heard about what happened to you last week, Alex. You feeling better?" she asked.

"Well, all the scars and bruises have cleared up on my handsome face, so I'd say all's well again." he nodded.

"Oh, good. I just can't believe how scary things've been around here lately. First, Kaitlyn gets kidnapped, then my poor AJ here gets attacked, and now you, Alex! Chris, aren't you worried that they'll be coming for you next?" the British Diva asked.

He sighed. "Well, there's no doubt that I've been thinking about it, but whatever they try to do, I'll be ready for em." Sabin replied surely.

"And we'll be there to fight them off if need be." agreed Alex.

"That's right. Now as for you, Britani, I really don't want them catching you next, so I suggest that you stay in here where you'll be safe." AJ said, taking her hands.

"That's very sweet of you, AJ, but Punkers' match is almost finished, and I gotta meet him, so I'll be fine on my own."

"Are you sure?"

She nodded and gave her a hug. "Of course. I'll talk to you guys later, all right?" she called, sending them a wave.

"Ok, just watch yourself—Be careful out there, B!" Chris and Alex called.

"Hmm," AJ pouted, sitting back down. "I still don't feel comfortable with her being out there on her own."

Alex wrapped an arm around her. "Hey, I know that things around here have been pretty strange lately, but y'know, we can't be afraid and looking over our shoulders all the time. They're trying to scare all of us, but as Machine Guns, we can't let that happen, right?" he asked.

"Yeah, you're right." AJ agreed with a nod, kissing him.

"Right on, dude." Chris agreed. "And to prove your statement, I'm going out in the hall right now to text Mickie on her new phone."

"Well, why can't you just do that right here?" asked AJ.

"Cause. I'm planning on visiting Mickie anyway for a quick little session in the storage closet again, if you know what I mean." he said with a wink, heading off. "Hell, maybe we'll even do it in the showers again!"

"Dude, you are such a freak." Alex chuckled along with April.

Strolling down the halls, he texted to Mickie, _"Hey, beautiful, how's the new phone treating ya?"_

She soon texted back, _"OMG, Chris, I cannot thank U enough for getting me a new one! It's even better than my old one and I love it! Thanks again!"_

"_A Country Queen like you deserves the best. ;)"_

" _:') You're my bestest friend, you know that?"_

"'_Bestest'?" _he texted with a chuckle.

"_Don't make fun of me, I like saying that word!" _she exclaimed.

"_Ok, ok, I understand! And I just want you to know that you're my…bestest friend, too."_

Mickie texted him back a few hearts, eliciting a laugh from Sabin. Once he put away his phone, though, he looked up to find Dave Batista blocking his path. He smirked. "Oh, someone's in an awfully good mood tonight."

"Don't you have to go somewhere and inject yourself with those 'roids or something?" Chris asked back.

"Oh, ok, that's a smooth one. Apparently, you've forgotten that your 'sister' and your best friend were brutally attacked over the last few weeks. Shouldn't you be concerned that you may be the next one on the list?" asked Dave.

"Look. I'm pissed as hell that my friends had to get attacked because your no good-scumbag of a boss has nothing better to do with his pathetic life, all right?" he replied.

"Hey, I suggest that you stop badmouthing me, because don't forget that I still have this!" Dave exclaimed, holding out a tape. "Remember this? The sex tape that you and Velvet unknowingly made? I was kind enough not to show this to the entire roster just yet, but that could change at any moment."

Sabin slowly shook his head and bit his lower lip, but soon, a smile grew upon his face. "You're not going to expose me to anyone." he announced.

"Oh? And why not?"

"Cause there's not going to be any tape to do the exposing." he replied before swiftly kicking Dave in the knee, causing him to cry out in pain and drop the tape. Chris quickly grabbed the tape before Dave could, and with a triumphant smile on his face, he destroyed the tape with one stomp of the foot. Dave looked at him, wide eyed.

"Oops." Sabin said innocently. "Looks like all the evidence is destroyed."

"You think that's funny?" Batista asked quickly.

"Yeah, I do."

"Ok, we'll see who's laughing once I kick your ass!" he cried, charging towards him. Chris smirked, though, having a weapon of his own once he slid a steel pipe from out of his back pocket and charged right back at the muscular Superstar, yelling, "BRING IT ON, BITCH!"

* * *

Meanwhile, out in the ring, Punk was just finishing up his match against Daniel Bryan, in which he won after interference by Kane.

"Here is your winner, CM Punk!" Lillian announced.

The fans went wild for the Straightedge Superstar while he celebrated his win with them and posed over the top turnbuckles. Not long after, though, Jericho's voice was heard on the titantron.

"Hey, Punk? Yoo hoo, over here, it's your good friend Jericho." he announced, the camera showing him somewhere backstage. The cheers turned into boos while Punk sent a glare his way. Jericho continued, "I bet you're going to enjoy that win of yours, aren't ya? Gonna enjoy it with a few cans of Bud Light? Heineken? Well, either way, I'm sure you'll end up drunk by the end of the night, right?"

Punk felt like wringing Jericho's throat, so he tightly grabbed onto the ring ropes instead.

"Well, that's quite all right, because I have a very special guest with me right now. You know her very well, man, in fact, you sleep with her." he continued.

"OH!" the crowd exclaimed as Punk grew even angrier.

"Don't you dare, Jericho, don't you DARE!" he called.

"That's right. Ladies and gentlemen, CM Punk's beautiful girlfriend, the one and only Britani Knight." he announced, standing aside to reveal the terrified British Diva tied to a chair, with her mouth tied shut with a piece of cloth.

Seeing his girlfriend practically being held captive, Punk could feel his heart sinking for her, but then yelled, "JERICHO, YOU LET HER GO RIGHT NOW, YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

The Canadian looked back at the Diva and laughed, saying, "Don't worry, honey, it'll all be over soon. Now look, Punk, why don't you just make it easy on yourself and grab a tall, cold one. I'm gonna make her drink either way."

Once he held up a bottle of Jack Daniels and threatened to pour it all over her, the tattooed Superstar pretty much snapped and cried, "LEAVE HER ALONE!"

"Well, if you don't get back here soon, Britani here may never forgive you again after you let me do THIS to her…" he began, unscrewing the cap of the bottle, while Britani cried even harder. "Uh, you people don't need to see this part." Once Jericho shoved the camera away, Punk furiously shook his head and sped out of the ring, up the ramp and backstage to stop Jericho before it was too late.

"BRITANI! BRITANI!" Punk yelled, running every which way until he finally reached his defenseless girlfriend in the same place where Jericho had left her. Jericho, on the other hand, had quickly disappeared. "Oh, baby…" Punk sighed, untying her and then wrapping her in his arms for a tight hug. "You ok? Did that son of a bitch hurt you in any way?"

She sniffled. "No, no, Punkers, I'm fine. Oh, I was so scared that he was going to pour that stuff all over me."

"Well, he's gone now and I'm here, ok? C'mon, let's get you back to the locker room." he said, leading her away.

As they made their way back, they ran into Alex and AJ, who were shocked at what they saw on TV.

"Oh God, are you guys all right?" AJ asked, worried.

"What the hell's Jericho's deal?" demanded Alex.

Punk tried to calm himself down, but couldn't. He replied, "I don't care what his deal is anymore. Once he targets my girlfriend and puts her in harm's way, that's when he crosses the line. I'm going to freaking kill him…I'm gonna KILL him!" he yelled, kicking a chair aside.

"Uh, count me in on the killing spree." Sabin's voice announced. When the four turned to see him, they gasped upon seeing his clothes torn, and himself sporting multiple bruises and a black eye. "Dave's mine for the taking."

"Chris!—Oh, my God!" they cried, rushing to take care of him.

Well, to sum it up - things just got one hell of a lot worse.


	110. Chapter 110

**Chapter 110**

That night after both Punk and Chris were the next to be targeted by Johnny's group at Raw, Mickie texted an invite for Sabin to join her in hers and Jericho's room for a few hours, since he was out somewhere. Now, the Country Diva was wearing some sexy lingerie under a robe, ready to surprise her lover.

"Ooh, he is gonna love seeing me in this." she smiled, wrapping up her robe when there was a knock at the door. "Yay!" Once she opened the door, she began to say something but froze once she saw how badly beat up Chris looked.

He tried to flash her a smile. "Uh..surprise?"

She gasped. "…Chris! Oh God, what happened to you?" she asked in almost a whisper, leading him inside and closing the door.

"Well, I was the next to get attacked by Johnny's crew." he announced. "By Dave specifically."

The Diva felt horrible, seeing his handsome face so bruised, and rushed to find something to help him. "Hold on, sweetie, let me find an ice pack or something…"

He flashed a smile at her and took a seat on the edge of the bed, saying, "So by the way you're wearing that robe, I'm guessing that you were going to surprise me by showing me what you're wearing underneath, huh?"

"I was until you come in here looking like hell!" she replied, grabbing a box from out of the mini freezer.

"Haha, thanks, that was nice." he chuckled sarcastically.

She chuckled a bit in reply. "Stop, this is serious. Now uh, this ice pack is a little small, but it should still work. I just hope this'll take down the swelling." she said, holding it against the bruise by his eye. From there, she gazed at him while he gazed back at her, the smile never leaving his face.

"Mickie, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"Why do you stay with Jericho if all he does is make you miserable? He's always starting crap with you, he just broke your other phone for no reason, and he's forcing you into things that you don't want to do. You're better than him, Mickie. Why do you have to be with him?"

She sighed. "To tell you the truth, Sab, I have no idea. I mean, even though he's a jerk sometimes, he managed to do a lot of good things for me, too. He was the one who helped me get this Women's title."

"At AJ's expense?"

"…That does sound pretty skeevy, huh?"

"To put it nicely, yeah. But what I'm saying is why should I still be with Velvet if I really want you, and why are you with Jericho if you really want me?...Wait, you DO want me back, right?"

Mickie smiled and lightly touched his cheek. "Sab, I've wanted you back since the day we decided to split up. I know it sounds weird, but it's true. But what we're doing now is a lot of fun, and we get to have our revenge on Velvet and Jericho without either of them knowing, so you can't go wrong with that, right?" she asked.

He nodded. "Yeah. But I guess the one good thing about you being on Jericho's side is the fact that you haven't got attacked like the rest of us have."

"The rest of you? I thought it was only you and AJ."

"Nope, first AJ was attacked by Eve and Del Rio, then Alex was ambushed at the back of the arena, Jericho threatened to pour liquor over Britani's head and made Punk watch, and well…you know what happened to me." he explained.

"Oh, my God. Why's Johnny doing all of this to you all?" she asked.

"Cause he's afraid that we're better than him, so he feels that he has to eliminate us all. But since we're the Guns, we're not going to take his little 'messages' lightly."

Mickie was still shocked to hear that Johnny's group, the group that Jericho had MADE her join, was terrorizing all of her friends, and all she could do now was wrap her arms around Chris in a silent hug while he hugged her back. "This is going to end, Sab. If Jericho had anything to do with this, I'll fix him." she announced with a mischievous gleam in the eye.

* * *

Next week's edition of Raw was the Raw before the Survivor Series PPV that coming Sunday, and now, Alberto, Eve, Jericho, and Dave Batista were all hanging outside at the back of the arena, planning their next move…

"Well, I guess congratulations are in order, folks. We took out each and every one of those pathetic little Guns and they didn't even have the guts to fight back." announced Dave.

"They're probably afraid of us now." Eve giggled. "But why'd you have to punch Alex so hard, Alberto? You nearly damaged his handsome face!"

"Eve, you need to get over this guy, ok? If you haven't remembered, he is the ENEMY. Besides, I would've punched him harder if I could. The SOB broke my perfect nose." Del Rio replied.

"Dude, will you forget about your damn nose?" Jericho demanded. "Look, the point is, we scared them off, and we have nobody to thank but Johnny. If it weren't for him, those punks would be taking everything that WE deserve." He held up the drink that he was holding. "I propose a toast. To Team Johnny, and People Power!"

The others nodded and toasted their drinks with his. "Here here!—People Power!" they cheered.

"People power, my ass!" a male voice called.

The four whipped around.

"Who DARE mocks the words of our General Manager?" demanded Eve.

Then, Alex, AJ, Chris, and Punk, all wearing black hoodies, joined the gang, with AJ replying, "If we weren't afraid of you guys, we wouldn't be coming back here for more!"

Eve and the guys stood up to face them.

"You—you shouldn't be here! We scared you all away!" Dave exclaimed.

"Well, you didn't scare us enough, cause we're ready and willing to beat you all as hard as you beat us!" Alex cried.

"So how about it, guys? You asked for a fight, you got a freaking fight!" Chris exclaimed before they all charged at their respective opponents. AJ tackled down Eve and threw punch after punch at her, Alex grabbed Del Rio by the back of the neck and shoved him against a wall, Chris whipped out his trusty steel pipe and began whacking Dave across the back again and again, and Punk and Jericho traded blows before Punk got the upper hand by attacking the Canadian with a few swift kicks.

Hearing all the commotion, David Otunga stepped out of the arena and spat out his coffee upon seeing the madness, and ran back inside calling, "Johnny! Get out here right away, we have a problem!"

Laurinitis soon jogged outside and was furious upon seeing his associates being beaten down by the Guns. "Hey, HEY, KNOCK IT OFF RIGHT NOW!" he yelled, when a few referees ran out to separate everyone. When the Guns were restrained and pulled away, Punk called, "What's the matter, Johnny? Surprised to see US?"

He snarled and approached the four Guns.

"How dare you? How dare you all have the nerve to show your faces here after my team pulverized you?" he demanded. "Haven't you gotten the message that none of you are wanted here?"

"Uh, obviously YOU guys don't want us here, but I think everyone else back there in the locker room likes us." replied Alex, stepping forward. "And most importantly, the fans love us. You're clearly just jealous that nobody could give two shits about you or any of those tools standing behind you."

"TOOLS?!" Eve and Jericho cried.

"Ok, ok. You know what? I have a surefire way to settle all of this." Johnny announced. "Now as you all know, Survivor Series is this Sunday, and let's use all of this tension here to set up a match. Eve, Dave, Alberto, and Jericho, you'll be facing AJ, Alex, Chris, and Punk in a traditional 4 on 4 Survivor Series Elimination match. Got it?"

The four Guns smiled triumphantly at this, as if they'd won something big. In a way, they kind of did.

Eve and the guys, on the other hand, were smiling as well. She said, "If we get to pulverize them in the ring, then we gladly accept."

AJ nodded and replied, "And if WE get the chance to kick your candy asses – Rock reference, haha – then on behalf of the Guns, we also accept."

"Good. I'll make the match official." Johnny said, heading back inside.

"Well, now that that's done, could you all go away so that we can enjoy the rest of our evening?" asked Alberto.

"Enjoy the rest of your evening? Fat chance, moron!" Alex exclaimed, before he and the Guns ran for Johnny's team and began the attack one again. Come Sunday, whoever won the match would show who the better team truly was.

* * *

**_AN: Sorry if this chapter was a little...blah. Since it was more of a filler, I'm not too happy with it, but whatever._**


	111. Chapter 111

**Chapter 111**

That following Sunday was November 18th, and the night of the Survivor Series PPV, where Team Guns would be facing Team Johnny in a traditional 4 on 4 elimination match. With all the crap that Eve, Del Rio, Jericho, and Dave put the Guns through, they were dead set on getting their revenge that night. Also, after learning of what happened with her friend/lover Sabin, Mickie had a little trick up her sleeve that was planned for Jericho as well.

Now, the match was about to begin and Dave Batista's music blasted through the arena first.

_Yeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!...I walk the miles inside this pit of danger_

_A place where no one follows me, I walk alone!_

Lillian announced, "This traditional 4 on 4 tag team elimination match is scheduled for one fall! Approaching the ring first from Washington, D.C., representing Team Johnny, he is the Animal, Batista!"

The fans immediately sent their jeers and boos his way as his pyro set off, and the muscular Superstar smirked in a cocky fashion as he strolled down to the ring. Once he entered, he climbed over the turnbuckles and flexed his muscles for the crowd to see. Next, Eve's music began.

_She looks good to me_

_She's got everything I want_

_(She's got everything I need)_

_She looks good!_

_She looks good to me_

_She's got everything I want_

_(Oh yeah)..._

The Latina did her pose at the top of the ramp before heading down to the ring, as Lillian continued, "Next, from Denver, Colorado, she is one half of the Diva's Tag Team Champions, Eve Torres!"

There were a few chants of 'HOESKI' from the crowd, but she scoffed and ignored them, stepping into the ring to pose next. Dave, in the meantime, was eying her down like a piece of meat, licking his lower lip and smiling all the way. Afterwards, Alberto Del Rio's theme music began, when Ricardo stood at the top of the ramp, announcing, "Señoras y señores diputados, ustedes están en la presencia de uno de los más grandes luchadores que han vivido! Aquí es él, el ganador este año del Survivor Series, he aquí él viene, ALBERTOOOOOOOOO….DEL RIIIIIOOOOOOOO…!"

The Mexican arrived in style, driving up in a 2013 Chevy Camaro and had on that million dollar smile of his once he soon approached the ring. Looking at his teammates, Alberto nodded a little before standing in his own corner of the ring. He really didn't like teaming up with anyone, but he was willing to do just about everything to defeat the Guns.

Finally, the lights in the arena shut off momentarily before a sparkling silhouette with raised arms was shown at the top of the ramp. After some pyro, Chris Jericho was the last to arrive to the ring.

_Break the wall DOWN!_

_(Break down the walls)_

_For those about to rock and what you want_

_Baby you know you're Judas and I'm your priest_

_Baby what I got is not from the least_

_Bring it through the stage in the rage of a beast…_

Lillian exclaimed, "And finally, approaching the ring from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, he is the WWE Champion, Chris Jericho!"

Once more, the crowd's unanimous boos greeted the Canadian Superstar as he eyed them all down, heading to the ring. Dave, for one, eyed him down because he was still pissed at not getting a shot at the WWE title that he was carrying, and Del Rio wasn't too pleased with not carrying the belt, either. Jericho smirked at his teammates and then stood on top of the turnbuckles and raised his title in the air, just to spite them.

Next, though, the Guns theme music blasted through the arena as the crowd went wild for their favorites.

_"Hundred miles an hour on a dead end road_

_I need a little Detroit in my soul_

_Every night's hotel a different name_

_It's part of the game_

_Everybody wants to be just like me_

_Fame and fortune is their fantasy_

_I gotta get back where the life was pretty_

_Rockin all the way to the Motorcity_

_Motorcity, motorcity, motorcity, I'm rockin' all the way to the motorcity..._

Alex and Chris, with AJ in the middle, all posed the 'Guns' sign at the top of the ramp while Lillian continued, "And representing Team Guns, approaching the ring from Detroit, Michigan, they are the team of Alex Shelley, Chris Sabin, and AJ Lee, the Motor City Machine Guns!"

The three slapped hands with the fans at ringside before stopping at the foot of the ring, eying down their opponents inside who immediately wanted a piece of them. If it wasn't for the ref holding them all back, things would've gotten messy. Chris, Alex, and AJ called out a few threats towards them and then looked back to wait for their partner.

_Look in my eyes, what do you see?_

_The cult of personality_

_I know your anger, I know your dreams_

_I've been everything you want to be_

_I'm the cult of personality..._

Once CM Punk arrived at the top of the ramp, he brushed a hand across the floor before calling, "IT'S CLOBBERING TIME!"

As he strolled down to the ring, Lillian finished, "And finally, their tag team partner, approaching the ring from Chicago, Illinois, CM Punk!"

The fans continued to go wild for the Straightedge Superstar once he approached the ring and slapped hands with his teammates, before the four of them climbed into the ring. What happened next was a cacophony of yelling and such from both teams waiting to get a piece of one another, before the ref broke everyone up and sent them to their corners.

After some careful discussion, it was decided that Shelley and Jericho would begin the match.

The two circled around before locking up, the two men trying to take the other down with a series of holds. Finally, Alex got the upper hand after throwing a rough punch across the Canadian's face, before taking him down with a backpack stunner. Quickly going for an early pin, Jericho kicked out at one. Quickly getting back up, Jericho retaliated by decking the Detroit native across the face a few times, backing him up into the corner turnbuckles and attacking him back with a belly to back suplex. With Alex down, Chris quickly went for a pin, only for Shelley to kick out at one as well.

Once Jericho got back to his feet, the two began trading punches back and forth, before Alex attacked Jericho with an Irish Whip across the chest, with the crowd chanting their 'WOOs' in the background. Chris reeled for a moment and Irish whipped Shelley across the chest in return. After he reeled, he quickly took him down to the mat with a reverse piledriver hold which was lifted and dropped into a wheelbarrow facebuster. Instead of going for the pin, he grabbed a screaming Jericho to his corner, tagging in Sabin.

Right there and then, Shelley attacked the Canadian with an inverted atomic drop, followed by a running dropkick to the knees by Sabin, followed by an inverted STF by Shelley and finally followed by a running dropkick to Jericho's face by Sabin. With Jericho lied out, Sabin went for the cover, but Jericho kicked out at two. Not giving him a chance to get back up, Sabin pulled Jericho up by the hair and yelled, "Mickie doesn't deserve you!" before clocking him across the face. Jericho stumbled back a bit and growled, replying, "STAY AWAY FROM HER!" before taking him down with a spinning heel kick. Not wanting to deal with him at the moment, though, Sabin rushed back to his team's corner and then tagged in CM Punk.

Seeing his enemy smirking and ready to attack, Jericho refused to face him, ran back to his corner, and tagged in Dave.

The muscular Superstar ran in and wasted no time in attacking Punk with a surprise spinebuster, quickly going for the pin, when the tattooed man kicked out at two. For the next few moments, Dave had the advantage, roughing Punk up with a few rough kicks and punches, with his main focus being to keep the smaller man down to the mat. Soon after, though, Punk began to fight back with a few fast kicks of his own, and once Dave was backed into the corner turnbuckles, Punk backed up and then ran for him with a big boot. Unfortunately, Dave slid out of the way just in time for Punk to crash his leg and knee into the turnbuckles.

While he cried out in pain, Dave smirked and took the advantage by dragging him over to his team's corner, allowing Eve, Del Rio, and especially Jericho to kick and pound away at the defenseless Superstar.

Alex, Chris, and AJ all motioned for the ref to do his job and to stop them, while he was busy telling them to stay behind the rope. Once the ref turned back around, though, he saw that Eve was the last one who had accidentally touched Dave's arm, and he instructed for her to step in next.

The Latina saw that Punk was still down, so she smiled evilly and continued stomping away at the Straightedge Superstar as the crowd continued trying to boo her out of the arena. At least, that's what they wanted to see. Leaning down, she slapped him across the face and yelled a few taunting words to him, but when she had her finger in his face, Punk suddenly grabbed her wrist, startling her, and soon got up to his feet. With him still not letting her go, Eve suddenly had a 'change of heart' and begged and pleaded for him to let her go. He laughed and shook his head. And then as a desperate maneuver, Eve tried to whore herself onto him by trying to kiss him, while Punk made a face and dragged her to his team's corner, gratefully tagging in AJ.

The tiny Diva smiled mischievously, approaching the Latina who slowly backed away. Before she could run back and tag in one of her teammates, AJ stopped her in her tracks with a wheelbarrow bulldog. Going for the cover, Eve kicked out at two. After this, AJ grabbed her by the hair, pointed towards the fans and then pointed towards her teammates before setting Eve's head between her legs and performing multiple push-up facebusters, sending Eve face first to the mat. Once she let go of the hold, Eve countered with a few punches and kicks, and then a lariat takedown.

With AJ still on the mat, Eve rushed to capitalize by climbing up to the top turnbuckles for a moonsault, but before she could jump, Alex rushed to her side and grabbed her leg to prevent her from going anywhere. Eve screamed at him to let her go, allowing AJ to climb up to the turnbuckles facing Eve, and soon took her down crashing to the mat with a powerful suplex. AJ then went for the cover, but Alberto Del Rio rushed into the ring and grabbed her ankle, pulling her aside and towards his team's corner. Alex, Chris, and Punk rushed into the ring and ignored the ref, each attacking their respective opponents while AJ managed to get ahold of Eve once again. Finally, when Sabin and Jericho and Punk and Dave were busy fighting at ringside, Alex and AJ decided to double team both Eve and Del Rio.

As the pair of heels tried to attack, the two Guns took them down quickly with simultaneous stereo enzuigiris. And as Alex and AJ smiled at one another, he pinned Del Rio at the same time that AJ pinned Eve, before the ref counted "1…2…3!"  
The fans cheered upon hearing that Del Rio and Eve were already eliminated, and the two of them looked on wide eyed, crying, "WHAT?"

Shelley and Lee kicked the two out of the ring and waved goodbye to them as the ref ushered Del Rio and Eve out of the ring, but the two heels were pissed upon being eliminated so quickly, so they turned around, quickly slid back into the ring, and Alberto took Shelley down with a fireman's carry double knee gutbuster, while Eve took AJ down with a reverse STO. Chuckling evilly at this, Eve pulled Del Rio along with her before heading off.

At this point, Team Guns were still in the lead with four members to Team Johnny's two members, and Jericho and Dave looked at one another, trying to figure out a strategy so that they'd come out on top. Meanwhile, Chris and Punk slid into the ring to check on their partners, but everyone scattered out of the way once Dave ran in with a big boot that missed everyone. Once Sabin and Punk climbed behind the ropes, both Alex and AJ were debating on which one of them should continue the match. Now that Eve was out, Alex insisted that she stay out of the ring for the remainder of the match, and she insisted that she still wanted to fight. When they heard Punk and Chris's cries of warning, though, the two looked up to find Dave running towards them with open arms, and AJ instinctively shoved Alex out of harm's way and took the devastating spinebuster herself.

As the crowd cried out in astonishment, Alex and the boys looked on wide eyed at the fallen Diva, but before he could help, Dave made the cover and smiled sadistically towards Shelley as the ref counted, "1…2…3!"

With AJ eliminated next, Chris and Punk leapt into the ring to double team Dave, while Alex carefully carried AJ out of the ring and lied her down ringside to care for her.

"You all right, baby? Oh God, I'm so sorry…" he uttered, combing her hair back.

Although she was in a great deal of pain, she nodded and replied, "I'm fine, just win the match for us, ok? I love you."

He nodded and gave her a kiss. "I love you, too."

Shelley then slid into the ring to join his friends in beating down Dave, while Jericho slipped in and specifically targeted Sabin by climbing over him and locking him in the Walls of Jericho.

The Detroit native yelled out in pain as the pressure was being applied to his back, and desperately reached out to grab the ropes. His hand shook, urging him to tap out, but before he could even reach the ropes, Jericho turned them both around so that he was facing the ramp. Moments later, though, he was shocked to find Mickie skipping down the ramp and towards the ring. When she got there, she called, "Come ON, babe, what are you waiting for?"

He loosened his hold on Sabin and called back to her, "What the hell are you even doing out here?! You're going to make me lose the match…!" he was cut off when Sabin suddenly lifted him over his shoulders, taking him down and out with a cross-legged Samoan driver. He went for the cover as the ref counted, "1…2…3!"

Sabin quickly turned to Mickie and smiled, winking towards her while she smiled and winked back, before skipping back up the ramp and backstage. Jericho, in the meantime was shell shocked, not believing that he was pinned so easily. Sending Sabin a look, he held the back of his head and climbed out of the ring. At this point, Dave was the lone representative for Team Johnny while Punk, Alex, and Chris were all left, and the crowd chanted, "MMG! MMG! MMG!"

Batista angrily shook his head at this and called to them all, "SHUT UP!" before going in full rage mode.

As the men aimed to attack him, Dave powered back by attacking them with swinging side powerslams, vertical suplex powerslams, and once both Shelley and Sabin ran for him, he brought out a surprise counter once he was able to powerbomb them both at the same time. Grinning wickedly at this, the Animal covered them both as the ref counted once again, "1…2...3!"

Now that the match was winding up, Alex and Chris stayed aside to look after AJ, while Punk was the last remaining member of Team Guns. Wanting to bring vengeance to his teammates, he eyed down Dave as he did the same with him. The two Superstars circled one another before attacking one another wish a series of back and forth punches and kicks, trying oh, so desperately to gain the final pinfall. When Punk held Dave up for the GTS, though, Dave dropped himself out of Punk's grasp and onto his feet. When the tattooed Superstar turned around, he dodged an oncoming Batista Bomb and then tripped Dave to the ground, holding him into the Anaconda Vise.

Both he and the crowd urged for him to tap out, and the pain just became too much for poor Dave. Finally giving in and tapping his hand to the canvas, the ref called for the bell as Lillian announced, "Here are your winners, the team of CM Punk, Alex Shelley, Chris Sabin, and AJ!"

The crowd roared for Team Guns as their music blasted through the arena, while Punk climbed out of the ring to join his battered teammates. After sharing handshakes and congratulations, Alex and Chris lifted AJ onto their shoulders in a celebratory fashion, as they, along with Punk, all held up the Guns' sign. Somewhere backstage, Johnny was surely pissed off, but hell, that's exactly what the Guns had wanted. Revenge has never been more of a bitch.


	112. Chapter 112

**Chapter 112**

After the Guns' victory at Survivor Series, Jericho was one highly pissed off man, and Mickie could surely tell due to the fact that he hadn't said a word to her on the car ride back to the hotel. Once the two arrived back home, Mickie strolled in, hiding a smirk, while Jericho followed, slamming the door after him.

Nonchalantly taking a seat on the bed and admiring her Women's title, Mickie kept smiling and then looked up to find Jericho glaring at her.

"…What?" she asked innocently.

"How could you, Mickie?"

"I—I don't understand."

"Oh, don't act like you don't know! Why the hell did you come out there during the match and distract me?" he demanded. "Because of you, I was thrown off of my game and Sabin pinned me!"

"Chris, I didn't come out there to distract you!" she lied. "I came to support you!"

"That's not support!"

"Look, I was just trying to help you win! I wanted to be a good girlfriend and support her boyfriend, but if you don't appreciate it, then sorry. I'll never do it again." the Diva replied with a shrug.

After a sigh, Jericho nodded. "Ok. I'm uh, sorry I got mad at you, babe. I guess I'm just a little stressed out.

"It's cool."

"Anyway, since Thanksgiving is only in a few days, I was thinking that you come along with me to celebrate the holiday with us." he announced.

"Wait. By 'us', do you mean your ex-wife and the kids?" she asked, feeling a little weary.

"Yeah!"

She suddenly had an 'I seriously don't want to be here right now' kind of look on her face while he continued speaking.

"Now I know that you, Jess, and the kids hadn't gotten off on the right foot at first, but I think after spending a little more time with them, they'll finally accept you."

Sighing, she replied, "Chris, that's a really nice offer and I'm honored, but…I—I can't."

"What? Why not?"

"I—I just want to spend the holiday with my own family, that's all." the Country beauty replied quickly, trying to hide the fact that she was half lying and half telling the truth.

Jericho eyed her down suspiciously and asked, "Seriously, Mickie?"

"Seriously, what?"

"Why do you always have to think about yourself?"

Now, she was surprised. "_…What?_ Just what the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Because every time I invite you to do something with me nowadays, it's always excuses with you! What, now you think that you're too good to spend the holiday with my kids?!"

Her eyes widened and she stood up to face him. "Since when is wanting to spend Thanksgiving with MY family an excuse?! Just because I have to tag along everywhere with you at work, doesn't mean that I have to outside of work. I have a life too, Chris and I'd like to live it, thank you very much."

The Canadian eyed her down and said, "Damn it, Mickie, what the hell's happening to us?"

"I don't know." she crossed her arms.

"Well it looks like we're growing apart more and more by the day and it seems to me that you don't give a damn!" he snapped.

"Oh, well WHOSE fault is that?" Mickie snapped back, grabbing her title and her purse and heading out of the room.

"Oh wow, Mickie, wow. So what, are you just gonna run out on me now?" he called after her.

"Maybe I am!" she called, not looking back as she slammed the door after her.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the Guns' room…

Alex and AJ had went out for a double date with Punk and Britani for celebrating their win at the PPV, while Sabin decided to stay back at the hotel. After Mickie had helped him pin Jericho earlier in the ring, Chris smiled and flipped through the pictures of her on his phone, thinking about _her_ more than ever, and even less of Velvet. Speak of the Devil, the blonde knockout herself arrived in the room, looked at her boyfriend, sighed, and tossed her purse down.

He eyed her down. "…What's bugging you?" he muttered, turning back to his phone.

"Nothing." she muttered back.

"Ok." he shrugged it off.

A little annoyed that he didn't seem more concerned about her, she stood up, faced him, and asked, "Ok, that's it, Chris, I've had it! What the hell's your deal?"

He looked back up at her. "MY deal?"

"Yeah, YOUR deal! Ever since we had that fight last week, you've barely spoken to me!" she cried.

"I just thought you needed some time to yourself to think. That's all."

"Think about what? The fact that you and everyone else thinks that I'm selfish? News flash, Chris, I can't help feeling that way since I love you so much." the blonde replied. "I don't want anyone else to have you, and I just can't help but to worry about you."

The Detroit native felt a little bad for her, but his feelings for Mickie were just too strong to resist. He nodded and replied, "Jamie, I really appreciate it, I do. But you and I both know that things between us aren't getting any better."

"No. No, Chris, don't say that! You know what, you're only saying that because Mickie probably persuaded you to! Am I right?"

"Persuaded—Vel, Mickie didn't do anything!" he cried.

"Sure. Go on and defend her like you always do. See, Chris, whenever we argue, it always comes back to Mickie, now why is that?" she demanded.

"Gee, Vel, I don't know. Maybe because of the fact that she's my best friend and I care about her?" he asked sarcastically.

"What you need to do is forget about her! Look, she's poisoning your mind! Plus, for some reason, every time I come in here, you're always staring at your phone. Now why is that, Chris? Is there something that you don't want me to see?" she asked, trying to snatch his phone while he pulled it away.

"What I put on my phone is none of your damn business, all right?!" he demanded.

After a little struggle, Velvet managed to grab his phone and gasped upon seeing picture after picture of Mickie. Chris eyed her down. "Give me back my phone." he said calmly.

Trying not to freak out, she did what she was told and then asked, "Why?"

"…For the last time. Mickie is my best friend and I think that I have the God given right to keep a few pictures of her, like I have pictures of AJ, Alex, and all of my friends. Now if this is such a crime to you, why don't you go and call the cops on me right away? Come on. I dare you."

The blonde crossed her arms and nodded. "Don't have such an attitude with me."

"Well, don't have an attitude with me!" he cried. "God, I'm tired of you putting Mickie down, just leave her the hell alone, all right?"

Velvet turned around and tried to collect her thoughts for a moment, but then turned around and said, "Ok. Chris, how about we just drop this whole argument, ok? I have bigger news to share, anyway."

"Great, did we win the lotto?" he mumbled sarcastically.

"No. Since Thanksgiving is in less than a week, I've already told my folks that you're coming over with me to spend the holiday with them." she said nonchalantly, while Chris's eyes widened.

"Are you kidding me?"

"No, why?"

"Your parents hate me, and you know it!"

"Look, you made one little mistake the last time I brought you over there, so I'm sure that they've forgiven you by now. Jeez."

Now, the Detroit native was pissed. "Ok, that's it. You may not care, Velvet, but I do. I'm sick and tired of you bossing me around and doing shit that I'm not even aware of until you tell me at the last freaking second! Now what I am going to do during Thanksgiving, Vel, is spend the holiday with Alex, AJ, and their folks. Got it?"

She was just as pissed as he was. "Oh, really? REALLY?! Why are you being like this, Chris? Our relationship's falling apart more and more by the day and you're not doing anything to fix it!"

As a reply, he grabbed his hoodie and headed for the door.

"Oh what, you gonna run away now? You're not going to stay here and face me?" she called.

Not turning back to face her, he headed out of the room, calling, "Don't want to…"

And after he pretty much abandoned her and left her alone, the blonde growled, buried her face in a pillow, and unleashed her anger, screaming, _"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"_

Out in the hall, Chris walked around to look for Mickie, until Mickie caught him first, grabbed his hand, and led him back into the elevator, pulling the switch to freeze the machine. Immediately locking eyes with the Diva, he smiled again. "Oh, thank God."

She giggled. "Thank God, what?"

As a reply, he wrapped her in a kiss and gazed at her. "Just…thank God." he chuckled back. "I just got back from another argument with Vel, and Mickie, she is getting on my last damn nerve."

"Well, it just so happens that Jericho's getting on my last damn nerve, too. But what did she say to you?" she asked.

"Oh, just the usual crap. And now get this – she expects me to spend Thanksgiving with her and her folks. She doesn't even care that I have other places to go, too."

She shook her head. "Unbelievable. That's exactly what Jericho said to me! Except, when I declined his _wonderful _offer to spend the holiday with him, his ex-wife who hates me, and their kids who think that I'm a home wrecker, Jericho accused ME of being selfish because I just wanted to spend the holiday with my own family!"

"What?" Chris asked, surprised. "That's bull!"

"I know! So uh, what are you doing for the holiday, anyway?"

"Well, I told her that I'd be spending it with Alex, AJ, and their folks, but I'm sure that they'd be busy, so I was hoping that…I could spend Thanksgiving with you." the Detroit native said, taking her hands.

The Diva smiled. "I think I'd really love that, Sab. I just hope that my folks will forget what happened the last time that I brought you over." she laughed.

"Ha, I know I screwed up around them, but I'm sure that they won't hate me like Velvet's folks do."

"Who could ever hate you?" she asked, running a finger seductively along his jaw line, before pulling him down for another slow kiss. "Now, what do you say we put this elevator to good use again?"

"Yeah, for some reason, sex is one hell of a lot more interesting in a foreign place like this one." he agreed with a smile, before locking lips with her again and sliding down the wall with his lover.


	113. Chapter 113

**Chapter 113**

About a week later, it was Thanksgiving and the Guns had gone their separate ways to spend the holidays with their families. Velvet had headed off to Florida by herself, while Chris and Mickie headed to Richmond, Virginia to spend time with her folks, and Alex and AJ, along with AJ's brother Cristian and her mother Lisa, all headed to Detroit to spend the holiday with Alex's folks…

Since it was a nice evening, Alex, AJ, Cristian, and Alex's sister Abby were all in the front yard playing a game of football.

"And Shelley goes left, he makes the turn, and he…" Alex began, holding the ball and trying to dodge Abby and Cristian, who were trying to block him. "Uh, uh, April, go long!" he cried, tossing the football across the yard to his girlfriend.

"STOP HER!" Abby cried, she and Cristian rushing to stop her.

The tiny Diva laughed, running every which way to escape them.

"Come on, sis, you never could play this game better than I could!" Cristian said, laughing.

"Shut up!" she called, tossing the ball back to Alex, right when her brother and Abby tackled her to the grass. "AAH! Alex, help me, I'm being crushed by mean people!"

The Detroit native chuckled and pulled his girlfriend up from the older two, before snatching the football and running across the street yelling, "WHOOOO! AND HE…GOES…ALL…THE…WAY!"

"Hey, moron, GET BACK HERE!" Abby yelled. "The game's over and you lost!"

In another yard, Alex made a pretend touchdown over the grass, until the sprinklers suddenly cut on and he yelped in reply. "HEY! What's the meaning of—" he cried.

An elderly lady ran out of her house with a hose, yelling, "What the hell did I tell you about stepping foot onto my damn lawn? GET OFF!"

Once she began spraying Shelley with the hose, he screamed and made a mad dash back across the street to his own yard, while the others laughed.

"Dude, what are you doing making touchdowns in little old ladies' yards?" asked Cristian.

He shook himself dry and replied, "Hey, I was just happy! She didn't have to turn the hose on me, the old bat!"

"You gotta admit that was pretty funny though, Shells." AJ replied, giggling.

"Oh yeah? You want funny, I'll give you funny!" he exclaimed, wrapping her in a tight hug, getting her soaked in the process.

"Aah! Damn it, Alex, let me go, you're all wet!"

"Oh, don't deny that you love me when I'm wet." he smiled, giving her a few kisses. After breaking away, they turned to notice Abby and Christian in a full blown make out session as well. "Hey, Swamp Thing! Why don't you and your new boyfriend get a room somewhere?" he called.

Abby simply flashed him the finger and continued with what she was doing.

"Hey, Alex, I actually do love you when you're wet." AJ announced. "Your muscles almost…glisten in the sunset."

"Ooh, I glisten?" he asked, admiring himself. "Yeah, I kinda do! Like, some kind of lubed up sculpture brought to life—"

He was cut off when Abby tossed a dirt clod at him. She giggled. "Oops."

Shelley looked down at himself and then began to chase after her, crying, "I'M GONNA KILL YOU!"

The two eventually tackled themselves to the ground, rolling around while Cristian and AJ stood and watched.

"Um…should we do something here?" she asked slowly.

"Hmm…nah." he replied, and when Alex and Abby's dad Billy came outside, saw the two rolling around on the ground, and grinned, deciding that instead of trying to stop them, he'd join in and tackle them both down.

"OW!" Alex cried. "Dad! You're crushing my leg!"

"Uh, wow." AJ chuckled, smiling. Then, she sighed. "If only our dad were this fun. And sane."

Cristian wrapped an arm around her and nodded. "I know. He hasn't been bothering you guys lately, has he?"

"No, thank God. Cris, why does he have to be so horrible to us?" the Diva asked in a small voice.

"I don't know, and I don't care. The point is, we don't need him. Never did, never will."

"_Guys, come inside! Dinner's almost ready!" _a voice called from inside.

"Woohoo! Chow time!" Abby exclaimed, running inside.

As they all headed inside, Alex stopped beside AJ and wrapped an arm around her. "Hey, babe, you feeling all right?"

A smile grew on her face and she nodded. "Yeah. C'mon, let's go inside and have some fun."

* * *

Later, everyone was gathered in the living room, watching football on TV.

"Aw, come on! He totally had that throw!" Billy cried.

"Dad, just face it, the Lions aren't making it to the Super Bowl this year." Alex replied.

"You dare besmirch the name of your state team? Alex, up to your room, you're grounded."

"Ha HA!" Abby laughed tauntingly.

"But Dad, I'm 29 years old, I can't be grounded anymore!" he argued.

"I don't care, you're grounded for a week for talking back to me."

AJ stifled her laughter. "Listen to your father, Alex, or he'll stop sending you money."

"Hey! Not a bad idea, thanks, AJ!" Billy exclaimed while Alex shot her a surprised look.

"Thanks a lot, _BABE!"_ Shelley exclaimed, hitting her with a pillow.

"AH! It's not polite to hit a woman, _BABY BEAR!"_ she laughed in return, grabbing another pillow and bopping him over the head with it.

"OW! STOP IT! What did I tell you about that name?" he exclaimed, tackling her over the couch and engaging in a pillow fight with her, while she laughed and tried to fight him off.

"Dad quick, get the camera!" Abby called.

The two were having their fun, until they all heard the doorbell ring.

"I got it!" Alex's mother Rachel called from the kitchen.

Alex and AJ stopped their pillow fight and looked up. "Hmm. Wonder who else could be here." he said.

"Hey, maybe it's Chris or Mickie here to make a surprise appearance!" she exclaimed.

"Awesome, if Sabin decided to show up, I'll dare him to go to Mrs. Nichols' yard across the street so we can watch him get hosed." he chuckled, taking her hand and leading her into the kitchen.

"You are so mean, Shells." AJ giggled.

Before they could reach the back door first, Rachel answered it. "Hello, may I help you?"

None other than Eve Torres was standing outside, crossing her arms over her chest and shivering.

Alex saw her first and gasped, muttering, "Oh, no…"

"What? Who is it?" AJ whispered.

Without saying a word, he pulled her aside to where she saw the poorly acting Eve. "…_What?!"_ she whispered in disbelief.

Eve told Rachel, "H-Hello, ma'am. I—I don't have any place else to go since I was *sniffle* kicked out of my own house by my family who…who doesn't want anything to do with me. I've been looking for a nice place to stay for the holiday, but everyone I asked kicked me off of their doorsteps." she began, faking a sob. "Could I please, _please _stay here to enjoy a nice, filling dinner before I'm forced to eat scraps on the streets?"

"Oh, you gotta be kidding—" Alex began, when Rachel sniffled and replied, "Oh, you poor dear! You don't even have to ask twice, come on in!"

Everyone else came in the room while Abby asked, "Hey, who's the new fish?"

"Everyone, this is—dear, what's your name?" she asked.

"Eve." she said, faking a cough.

"Everyone, this is Eve. She's staying with us for Thanksgiving dinner, so I want you all to make her feel welcome." she announced.

While everyone else seemed to greet her with open arms, Alex and AJ stood back, with Alex wrapping a protective arm around his girlfriend while AJ snarled and crossed her arms. After greeting everyone else, Eve turned to the couple with a mischievous smile as if to say, 'Hey, guys, let the Thanksgiving festivities begin.'

* * *

_**AN: Ok, so this will be the last chapter for the week or so, since there's supposed to be this huge hurricane blowing by my town and there's a possibility that the power will be out for a while. So there won't be any updates for a while if anything occurs. If there's no power outage at all, then disregard what I just said.  
**_


	114. Chapter 114

**_AN: Ok, so apparently the weather people lied about the whole 'power outage' thing. Damn it. -_- Anyway, onto the story... _  
**

* * *

**Chapter 114**

"Everyone, I am so thankful that you were nice enough to invite me in your home for the holiday." Eve smiled, still in the kitchen with everyone. "You have no idea how much I appreciate this."

"Wait, wait, guys, you don't really believe her, do you?" Alex spoke up.

"Alex, what are you talking about, just look at the poor girl!" his mother exclaimed.

"She's not poor! Look, we know her, hell, we WORK with her and she's nowhere near poor!" he argued.

"Alex is right, she has just as much money as we do!" agreed AJ.

"I—what are you talking about?" Eve faked another sniffle. "I've never seen you two before!"

"WHAT?!" they cried.

"Stop lying!" Alex argued.

"Alex, that's enough!" his mother exclaimed. "Now stop being so rude to our guest, she deserves the same respect that you deserve."

"But we're telling the truth, she's not homeless at all!" he cried.

"Eve, how did you even know where we are, all the way here in Detroit?" AJ asked.

"Why—why are you assuming that I planned any of this? I used to live around here, I just showed up here because everybody else rejected me!" the Latina argued.

"Damn it, Eve, you're lying through your fat mouth and you damn well know it!" Alex snapped.

"Alex!" exclaimed Rachel, surprised. "Honestly?"

"Come on, son, knock it off, the poor girl's miserable." his father agreed.

Fed up with nobody else believing him, he muttered, "You know what, I—forget it."

After he stormed upstairs, AJ sent a glare Eve's way while she smirked back, before the tiny Diva rushed upstairs to join her boyfriend. When she finally found him in his old room, she lightly knocked on the door. "May I enter your lair?" she asked with a smile.

He turned around and couldn't help but to chuckle. "Of course you can. Come in."

She looked around the room, which now consisted of just a bed and a few dressers. "Wow, so this used to be your old room when you were still living with your folks?"

"Sure was. I had some pretty great times up here. Had a few secret parties, invited a few chicks during those late nights, hell, I even had my first sexual experience up here." he explained.

The Diva crossed her arms and smirked. "Oh?"

He turned around to face her. "BUT, none of them were ever as good in bed as you are, you feisty little chick." he smiled, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close.

"Good. I'm happy to hear that I erased all of those other chicks out of your mind."

"You are the only one for me, babe." he replied, leaning in to give her a slow, yet passionate kiss.

"Ahem." a voice said from the doorway.  
The two whipped around to find AJ's mother standing there and smiling. "I hope that I'm not interrupting you two."

"Oh, uh not at all!" she exclaimed, giggling.

"Hey, Lisa, what's up?" asked Alex.

"Just wanted to call you guys down for dinner."

"Do we have to go down there?" AJ asked. "We don't want to run into Eve."

"Yeah, she doesn't even need to be here in the first place." agreed Alex. "How the hell did she even find this house in the first place?"

"Well, what's so wrong with this Eve chick?" asked Lisa.

"Where do we begin? Well, basically she's making our lives at work a living hell because she's made her life's mission to try and break Alex and I up." she replied.

"What?" she asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, she wants me for herself, but that ain't gonna happen in this lifetime because I'm happily stuck with April here." Shelley replied, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

Lisa smiled at this and replied, "I had a feeling something was up with that girl. Worst acting I've ever seen."

The two laughed.

"So, you two still coming down for dinner?"

"Well…guess we don't have much of a choice. If that bitch wants to get her hands on my Alex, there's going to be a fight out in the front yard." AJ replied, grabbing Alex's hand and leading him out.

"Hell yeah, my girl's a scrapper!" he cheered, smiling.

So during dinner time, Alex and AJ decided to just ignore Eve's presence by sitting all the way at the other end of the table. But even through their distance, Eve occasionally sent glances in their direction. After dinner was over, the two were headed into the living room to watch some TV, when the Latina quickly joined them.

"Hello, you two. Haven't gotten the chance to speak to you yet."

They sent her a look.

"Hey!" she snapped, stopping in front of them. "You can't just ignore me forever, you know."

"Actually, uh, since this is my parents' house, which also somewhat makes it MY house, I think that I have the right to ignore you for as long as I please." Alex replied.

"Eve, just cut the crap, will you? How dare you try and pretend you're homeless when you're not? There are people who really ARE homeless out there with absolutely nowhere to go, damn it, I was nearly homeless at one point in my life!" AJ snapped while Alex ran a soothing hand across her back to calm her down. "I can't freakin' stand people like you!"

The Latina sighed. "Look, I'm sorry that I had to say that I had nowhere to go, but it was the only way I could get in here!"

"Well, why the hell are you here at my folks' house to begin with?" Alex demanded.

"Isn't it obvious? To get closer to you." she smiled, about to put her hands on him. Before she could, though, AJ pulled him back.

"You need to leave, all right?" she announced.

"Before I throw you out myself." agreed Shelley.

"But your parents already invited me in, so how could I just up and leave like that?" Eve asked, smiling. "I'm spending the rest of this holiday with you guys whether you like it or not."

The two looked at one another before ignoring her and taking their seats on the couch.

"Hmm." the Latina muttered before turning back to the kitchen to see Alex's mother pouring two drinks for the couple. Then smiling at this, she remembered that she had a little something special stashed in her pocket, and once Rachel turned away, Eve quickly slipped a package of Rohypnol, a date rape drug, into one of the glasses and quickly stirred it around before casually stepping back into the living room and taking a seat. Rachel entered the room with the drinks and said, "Enjoy, you two. Cherry Limeade, your favorites."

"Yay, thanks, Mrs. Shelley!" AJ exclaimed.

"Thanks, ma." Alex called, before taking the drugged drink. "Well, baby, I propose a toast."

She held up her glass and smiled. "To what?"

"To uh…Cherry Limeade, and us!" he replied, laughing.

"Here here!" the Diva cheered, toasting her glass with his as they both began to drink. Eve, in the meantime smiled upon seeing Alex easily taking in the drugged drink, and in only a matter of hours, he would soon be hers instead. At least, for the night.

* * *

Later that evening, AJ was upstairs chatting it up with Alex's sister Abby, while Alex was downstairs with AJ's brother Cristian. And Shelley was certainly feeling the effects of the drug by now.

"Cris, dude…the Packers totally lost the Super Bowl and you know it!" Alex said drowsily.

"Uh, dude…" Cristian began, feeling Alex's forehead. "You do know that the Super Bowl isn't for another three months, and the Packers aren't even in the running yet."

"They're…not?" he slurred. "Aw, CRAP! The TV—box thingy lied to me! LIAR!"

He couldn't help but to laugh, but then tried to get serious. "Alex, have you been drinking or something?"

"What makes you say that?" he muttered.

"Well, you have no idea what you're saying, your speech is impaired, and...it's obvious that you're disorientated."

"Dis-diorentated?" he mispronounced.

"Dis-or-ien-tated." Cristian said slowly. "Look, I don't want you getting hurt or anything, and I'm sure as hell not letting you get in a car with my little sister with you in this condition, so why don't you go upstairs and rest for a while. I'm sure with a little sleep, you'll feel a little better."

"Aww, but I'm not tired!" he whined while he was helped up.

"I know, I know, but as your friend, I'm doing this for your own good. Now c'mon, I'll help you up."

Soon after, Cristian practically had to drag Alex upstairs and then led him into his own room. "There. Now just stay there and sleep it off, and in a few hours, you'll hopefully feel somewhat better."

Alex stumbled onto the bed with ease and muttered, "Where's April? She's my cuddle buddy."

Cristian chuckled, turned out the light, and said, "Sweet dreams, dude." before closing the door.

Alex was close to falling asleep immediately, but once the door opened again, he saw a blurred silhouette of a woman standing in the doorway. "…April? That you?"

Eve smiled, closing the door behind her and seductively pulling down the strap of her dress. "It sure is." she replied, approaching him.

Meanwhile, in Abby's room…

She and AJ were lying on the bed, channel flipping on the TV. "…Wow, so my brother really took you out on a trip to Japan?"

"Yep, even though some things on the trip went different then we expected, I had the time of my life there with him." AJ said, smiling.

"Wow. Alex never does anything that nice for me. In fact, he never did anything that nice for any of his past girlfriends." replied Abby.

"Well, it's because I'm special." the Diva replied back.

She smiled. "Y'know, I don't think he's cared more about any other girl than you. I've never seen my moron of a brother so happy before, and it really says a lot by the way he still wants to stand by you even though he has to put up with your jerk of a father."

AJ nodded. "I think that alone makes Alex the love of my life. If I were with anyone else and they met my father, I know that they'd leave me in a heartbeat. But not Alex." she sighed happily and rolled around on the bed so that she was hanging upside down from the edge. "I love that man soooo much…You're so lucky to have him as a brother, Abby."

"Heh! I love him to death and all, but he's always been out to annoy me. Ever since we were kids." she replied. "And now he seems even less mature at 29 than he was at 9. Now if anyone's lucky, it's you for having a brother like Cristian, that gorgeous, gorgeous hunk! Thanks for inviting me to that reunion to meet him, by the way, cause I think I've finally found a guy who I can stay with for quite a while." she sighed contently.

"Ooh, Abby, are you…in love with him?" AJ asked, intrigued.

She blushed. "I—I think I might be! I dunno, I've dated a lot of guys before, but it just hasn't seemed to work out. But with Cristian, things are a lot different. It's like, I want to be with him 24/7 and…hell, I want to see him now!" she exclaimed while AJ laughed.

"Well, I think that my brother will be perfect for you, and you'll be perfect for him. But Abby?"

"Yeah?"

"Just don't ever hurt him, ok? I mean, I know you won't, but he's been a little unfortunate in the love department and even after he came back home from the war, he's just been a little stressed lately. He needs someone to be there all the time for him while Alex and I are on out on the road. " she explained.

"April, I promise that I'll be there for him, no need to worry! If he wants a real woman, he's got one." she smiled, giving her a hug before they both exited the room. "See you later, ok, Crazy Chick? Gonna go and check out your insanely hot brother."

"Ha ha! Sure thing! I'm gonna go and drool over your sexy hot brother, too!" she called, walking down the hall to see where Alex was. Looking downstairs, she was surprised not to find him in the living room.

"Hmm. Alex?" she called. "Maybe he's in his old room."

So she ran back upstairs and approached the room, slowly opening the door. "Hey, Alex, why's it so dark in—" she began, turning on the light to find Eve the Corporate slut, clad in her lingerie, straddling over a drugged, shirtless Alex on the bed. Eve was working on removing Alex's belt before turning to a wide-eyed AJ with a smile. "Hi. Surprised to see me?"


	115. Chapter 115

**Chapter 115**

AJ was still standing in the doorway in absolute shock, seeing Eve straddling over her near unconscious boyfriend.

"What's wrong, AJ? You just gonna stand there or are you gonna say something?" Eve challenged her. "And uh, if you're asking for a threesome, then no. Alex and I are strictly getting it on by ourselves, and we'd really love to have some privacy."

"You get the hell off of my boyfriend, you _**BITCH!**_" AJ screamed, jerking the Latina off of Alex and shoving her back on her ass. Then, she rushed to him. "Alex, baby, speak to me. What the hell did she do to you?"

"A-April? Baby, you…you are looking so…beau—beautiful…" he slurred.

Silent, she gently ran a hand across his cheek when she uttered, "You've been drugged, haven't you?"

"I LOOVEEE you, baby!" he exclaimed in reply.

AJ looked to see that his eyes were sort of glazed over, and then shot Eve a death glare. "Are you really that desperate, Eve?"

"Whatever could you mean?" she asked, standing back up.

"Where are the drugs?" the tiny Diva asked, inspecting Eve's bag.

"Hey, HEY, don't look through my stuff!" she cried, rushing to stop her.

After a lot of pushing and shoving, AJ managed to whip out a small bag filled with a white powder. "Wow, Eve, so since Alex wouldn't willingly sleep with you, you had to resort to THIS?!" she demanded, holding up the bag.

"And I would've slept with him if you'd just mind your own damn business." Eve smirked, shoving AJ back.

"When Alex is concerned, it IS my business, and he'd never sleep with you because he doesn't want to contract whatever STDs you're currently carrying. Rumor has it that you have…crabs, I believe!" she smirked back, enraging Eve that much more.

"Screw you, bitch!" the Latina snapped, slapping her across the face.

"I'm not a bitch. I'm a _crazy _BITCH!" she snapped back, roughly Irish whipping her across the face, causing her to stumble back a bit.

Eve gasped and lightly touched her cheek, and then retaliated by shoving AJ so hard that she crashed into a wall. "OW!"

"That all you got, bitch? Huh?" the Latina asked.

AJ held the back of her head and got back up, exclaiming, "You need to get the hell out of this house before I throw you out on your skanky ass myself!"

"Oh yeah? TRY ME!" Eve screamed, tackling down the tiny Diva to where they rolled out of the room and into the hallway. Scratching at one another and pulling each other's hair, the two continued on with the catfight and didn't realize that they were headed for the stairs. The girls screamed, rolling and tumbling down, until they ended back up into the living room.

"I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" AJ screamed, while everybody else rushed into the room.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, what's going on in here?!" demanded Alex's father.

"Girls, GIRLS!" cried his mother.

"April, _mija, _settle down!" Lisa exclaimed, pulling her up and holding her back.

"Whoa, catfight!" Abby exclaimed.

AJ gained her composure and announced, "You shouldn't have let Eve in here, Mrs. Shelley. She drugged Alex."

His parents looked at one another, shocked.

"What?" Billy cried in disbelief.

"April, honey, what are you talking about?" asked Rachel. Then, she looked at Eve. "And where the hell are the rest of your clothes?"

"Please guys, let me explain. I walk into Alex's old room to find him nearly passed out with this SKANK straddling over him. Plus, I looked inside Eve's purse and found this." she said, holding up the Rohypnol.

Rachel took a look at the package and then turned to Eve. "Did you really do THIS to my son?!" she demanded.

"I—I…" the Latina uttered.

"I had a feeling that something was wrong with Alex." spoke up Cristian. "I just thought he was drunk, but maybe the drug was slipped into his drink."

"Is this true?" Billy demanded to Eve.

"…Yes." she said in a small voice, putting on her coat. "But—"

"So wait, wait. You come onto our doorstep, pretend to be homeless, when you're really here to screw with our son?" he continued, while AJ crossed her arms and smiled.

"Oh, I have to check on my baby. Alex!" Rachel exclaimed, rushing upstairs.

"You're lucky if we don't call the cops on you, which we should do!" Mr. Shelley exclaimed to Eve while she hung her head in shame.

"Please don't do that, sir, I'm sorry! It'll never happen again."

"You're damn right, it'll never happen again! Now why don't you get the hell out of our house before I change my mind and call the police on you?" he exclaimed, opening the front door.

"Okay." she said, heading out.

"Oh, let me help you." AJ smirked, giving her an extra boost by literally kicking the Latina outside and into the cold, night air.

"_OW!"_ she cried from a distance before AJ slammed the door.

"Wow, chick really is bad news." Abby announced. "I'm gonna go and check on Alex, babe, let's go." she said, leading Cristian upstairs.

"Thank you for finding all this out, AJ." Billy told her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "We had no idea that this girl would come into our house, lie, and do this kind of a thing."

"Of course. She does that kind of a thing all the time, so this isn't news to me. I just wish she'd stop and leave us alone." the Diva sighed.

"Ok, so I didn't want to say this in front of the others, but…nice ass-kicking, _mija._" Lisa said with a smile.

She giggled and gave her mother a hug. "Thanks. I told you that if she'd ever put her hands on MY Alex, she'd get her ass handed to her.

"I believe you. So will he be all right?"

"I'm sure he will. I don't know how much of the drug she slipped in his drink, but we may have to take him to the hospital just to be sure." the Diva replied, a little worried.

Outside, in the meantime, Eve picked herself up from where she landed on the grass, and said, "Well that went horribly wrong."

From behind a group of trees, AJ's evil father Antonio emerged and called out to her, "Hey!"

She whipped around and approached him. "Sir."

"Did the plan work? Is my daughter and that punk boyfriend of hers split up?" he asked.

She sighed. "The drugs worked out, and she walked in on me straddling over him in my lingerie, but…AJ was able to find the drugs and instead of getting pissed at him, she got pissed at me. The whole family kicked me out of their house." she explained.

Antonio growled, before angrily slapping off a tree branch. "DAMN IT!" he shouted, startling the Latina.

"So, um, do I get my pay?" she asked.

As a reply, he forcefully shoved her down to where she fell to the ground, said nothing, and instead peered towards the house with a menacing look on his face.


	116. Chapter 116

**_AN: You know what today is, kids: It's Cliffhanger Friday! At this point, things are going to start getting really good in the story, trust me._  
**

* * *

**Chapter 116**

A couple of days after Thanksgiving, Mickie and Chris had returned back to the Raw crew's hotel. To their surprise, their holiday turned out better than they'd ever expected. Chris got along great with Mickie's family, and they had one hell of a time. The day after, he and Mickie decided to spend some time together around her hometown, and the two connected just like old times. Of course, there was a lot of love making in between, but all in all, they were happy with the way things had turned out. Now, Chris had seen that neither Alex nor AJ had returned yet, and Velvet wasn't anywhere to be seen, so he led Mickie into their hotel suite…

"Aah!" Mickie exclaimed in excitement once Sabin playfully chased her into the bedroom and soon wrapped his arms around her, tackling her down to the bed. "Ok, ok, Sab, you got me!"

He laughed, replying, "Told you never to dare me to try and outrun you. See the result?"

"Shut up!" she laughed back, hitting him over the back with a pillow.

"Hey, must you be so violent?" he asked, hitting her back with the pillow before tossing it away.

"But I like violence." the Diva pouted.

"Small world. I just happen to like violence as well." he replied, gazing at the Diva before leaning in to give her a slow kiss. Mickie eagerly wrapped her arms around his neck to deepen the kiss, but before things could heat up, Chris broke away. "Mickie, wait."

"Yeah? What's wrong, did you run out of condoms or something?" she asked.

"No, it's not that. I just think that we need to talk."

"Sure. What about?"

"About us. Mickie, you and I both know that there's more to our relationship than just sex. I mean, don't get me wrong, the sex is great, but…I want more." he explained, while she looked him dead in the eyes. "Remember after the holiday, we went exploring all around town and just goofed off and had a great time?"

She nodded. "I had a wonderful time."

"So did I. And I want that for us 24/7, just like we used to before we broke up. Mickie, I love you so much, more than you'd ever know, and I haven't stopped loving you. I loved you when we broke up and you said that you hated me, I loved you when everyone else turned their backs on you, and I loved you every moment that I was with Velvet." he said while Mickie began tearing up.

"Our time apart has been a wake up call for me. Cause I've decided that I don't even want Velvet anymore when the whole entire time I've wanted you. See, whenever I'm with you, you bring out this crazy, insane side of me that I've never even felt before and I love that feeling! And the fact of the matter is, we have been through way too much together to just remain friends. Mickie, I swear on my life that I will _never _hurt you like I did ever again. I—I just want you to be mine again." he finished.

The Country Diva wiped away her tears and smiled. "Chris…that was the most beautiful thing that anyone's ever said to me, and you know what? You're absolutely right because I've missed you since the day that we broke up. I could NOT stand seeing Velvet all over you during all of these months, and to tell you the truth, that's the main reason why I had to hook up with Jericho. Y'know, to distract myself from constantly seeing the man that I love being happy with someone that's not me." she said, her voice breaking. "Sab, I forgive you. For everything. And all I really want is to have you back with me, too. But first, you have to promise me something."

"Anything." he replied.

"Just promise to never, EVER, hurt me like you did the first time around, ok? " she asked.

He smiled and took her hands. "I promise, scout's honor, cross my heart—"

She laughed, "Ok, ok! Oh, Sabin, I'm so glad to have you back. I love you so much." the Diva replied, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Oh, you have no idea how happy I am to have you back, too. I love you, Sweet Mickie." he said, pulling her in for a hug, before they soon leaned in for another kiss. "Ah, that felt good."

"Yeah, it did! So, since we've been having a LOT of sex lately," Mickie said with a laugh. "Why don't we just enjoy each other's company and watch TV instead?"

He nodded. "I think that sounds pretty damned nice. Let's watch some TruTV, I want to see the latest episode of Operation Repo."

"Ooh, I love that show!" she exclaimed, cuddling into him.

* * *

Later that day, Jericho was finishing up some shopping at the store, along with a few other 'errands', and was both pissed off and hurt at the same time. Hurt because Mickie had rejected his offer to spend Thanksgiving with him, and hurt overall because of the fact that he and her were drifting apart. But he was also pissed at Sabin, because he knew that he was the cause of his and Mickie's rift. He was _always _the cause. And Jericho was dead set on getting HIS Mickie back. Adjusting something in the back pocket of his jeans, he sighed and then went on to pay for his groceries.

There, he bumped into his ex-wife, Jessica.

"Jess." he said flatly, not looking at her as he waited for the cashier to check his groceries.

"Oh, where's your little slut? Haven't seen her at the Thanksgiving dinner and she's not here, either?" she asked with a smirk. "I bet that little whore just ran off on you to be with some other guy, didn't she?"

"No, she didn't!" he argued.

"Well, that's exactly what YOU did to me!" she cried. "Why the hell would you leave me, no, why would you leave your KIDS to be with her?!" she demanded.

"HEY!" he shouted, gaining a few looks from the other shoppers. He calmed down a bit. "I would never, EVER, leave my kids for anyone! You need to understand that I love them to death and nobody will change that. So don't you dare say a thing like that to me again, Jessica!"

She gave him a look. "You know, it's hard for me to believe a word that you say, since you're rarely ever home, whether it be with the WWE or with your band, it's like you've completely forgotten about us! All it ever is is you and that whore of yours."

"Jess, stop. I know I have a hectic life, but that's what I've chosen to do! And even though I may have other commitments, I will ALWAYS have time to spend with my kids. They're not growing up without me, and you're sure as HELL not taking them away from me!"

"Chris, I would never take the kids away from you and you know that! But…what about US? We were happily married until just a few months-no, YEARS ago! Every time I heard these allegations about you being on the road with these Divas without me around, I knew you were doing some sneaking around behind my back. But what makes this Mickie chick so special, Chris, huh? What is there about her that attracts you to her and not me?"

"Jess, you knew that we were having problems for a while, I wanted to do something about it, but you sure as hell didn't! Y'see, Mickie's one of my closest friends and I've had a thing for her for years. Look, I can't help the way that I feel about her, and—and wait, wait, I just remembered something! YOU have no right to judge me for cheating because didn't you do the same on me?" he demanded.

She shoved her groceries in her shopping cart. "Don't bring this up again, Chris."

"Of course you don't want to bring it up, Jess, because you know that what you did was wrong!" he exclaimed, paying for his groceries while following her out of the store.

She rushed to her car with him on her tail, calling, "Why are you running away, Jess? Come on, you know what you did, you just hate to admit it again, don't you?"

After she tossed her groceries in her car, she whipped around and cried, "YES, I cheated on you with the neighbor, ok?! But I only did it because I knew you were doing the same to me out on the road, or in your hotel, or in your little tour bus somewhere!"

The Canadian nodded. "All right. So now you understand why this marriage has to end, right?"

"But I don't want it to end. I still love you, Chris."

He paused for a moment and replied, "I still love you, too, Jess, but we're going to need some space from one another for a while."

"Chris—"

"Jess, I'm serious. Now we need to stay strong for the kids, because they're the most important in all of this. Ok?"

She nodded. "Fine. So where are you going now?"

"Off to be with my girlfriend Mickie. I'm sorry, Jess, but I want to be with her."

"All right, but if one day, she hurts you in any way, don't forget that I said 'I told you so'." Jessica replied, stepping into her car and speeding off out of the parking lot.

Chris lightly shook his head and climbed into his own car. "She's crazy. Mickie would never do such a thing." he muttered to himself, starting the engine and heading back to the hotel.

* * *

A few minutes later, Jericho arrived back to the hotel, and stepped into his and Mickie's hotel room. Only…nobody was there.

"Mickie? Babe, you in here?" he called. "I got your favorite ice cream!"

No reply.

"Look, are you still mad at me for breaking your phone? I said I was sorry for that, but you made me angry that day and…wherever you are, could you just come out here and face me, please?"

No reply.

"Seriously, Mickie, answer me!"

Silence.

"Where the hell did she g—" he froze, knowing exactly where she might've been. He turned around and rushed out of the room, jogging down a few halls until he reached the Guns' hotel room. Lightly knocking on the door, he called, "Mickie? Hun, it's me, your boyfriend. Are you in here?"

Still no reply.

Sighing, he turned the doorknob and to his surprise, it was unlocked, allowing him easy access into the room. "Mickie!" he called again. "Hmm, maybe she's not here—"

"_OOHHHHHHHH!"_ Mickie's moaning voice cried from the other room.

The Canadian froze again and quickly approached the bedroom door. "What the—"

"_OHHH, SAB! Ohh…oh God!" _

Right then and there, Jericho swung open the bedroom door to find the ultimate shock of his life, seeing Mickie and Sabin huddled under the sheets in a hot and steamy love making session. Caught like deer in headlights, the two froze and locked eyes on him in return.

"What the _**HELL**_ is going on here?!" Jericho demanded.


	117. Chapter 117

**_AN: It's Conclusion Monday! What will happen next? Check it out. You'll be surprised._  
**

* * *

**Chapter 117**

After Chris Jericho had caught Mickie and Sabin in the throes of passion, the Diva sighed and covered herself with the blanket, while Sabin couldn't help but to smirk. "Oh, hey, Chris!" he exclaimed. "Yeah, looks like you walked in just in time, didn't you? So uh…surprise!"

The Canadian wasn't amused. "Sabin, what did you do to her, what did you DO?!"

"What does it look like? I had sex with her. And dude, the sex was phenomenal! But the two of us are known for breaking beds, so it's nothing new." he replied casually.

Jericho snarled and uttered, "I knew you were trouble to begin with Sabin, I knew it! Now what the hell did you do to her? Did you drug her? Drug her to force herself to have sex with you without her consent? You probably forced her to do it, didn't you?"

"Hey, man, I didn't force Mickie to do anything, I'd never do that!" he argued. "But, if you're curious to know how many times we've done it, I'd be more than happy to tell ya. See, Jericho, the huge difference between you and I is that you never treated Mickie with the respect that she deserves. I do, and I just happen to make her scream in bed a little louder."

"You—you son of a bitch!" Jericho cried, pointing an accusing finger at him. "See, I know exactly what you did. You sweet talked Mickie, y'know, tried to charm her. Then when she least expects it, BAM! You trap her, drug her, and lead her in here. Right? And then, while she's drugged, you KNOW full well that she can't fight you off."

Sabin narrowed his eyes.

"Does that make you feel like a man, Sabin? Knowing that you can just take advantage of my girlfriend this way? Well I'll tell you this – this is the LAST time you are going to take anything from me!" Jericho snapped.

Mickie buried her face in her hands and Sabin took notice of this, calling, "Ok, you know what, if you're just going to sit here and make threats, then I suggest that you leave right now!"

"Oh, I'm gonna leave and I'm taking Mickie with me. You, on the other hand are gonna end up leaving here in a body bag!" Jericho cried.

"Jericho, stop, that's enough!" Mickie spoke up. "Come on!"

"I'm not afraid of you, and since this is my hotel room, I want you to get the hell out of here!" Sabin exclaimed. "Now just get out of here before you embarrass yourself!"

"You know, Sabin, you must be out of your mind if you think you're getting away with this." he said, before approaching Mickie.

"I never heard Mickie complaining about a thing!" Sabin exclaimed again.

"Mickie, come on, let's get outta here, I'll deal with him later." the Canadian said, grabbing her arm.

To his shock, though, she jerked her arm back and cried, "Chris, Chris, no, just STOP! I'm not going anywhere with you!"

He stepped back, raising an eyebrow while Sabin smirked in a silent triumph.

"Mickie—" Jericho began.

"I mean it, don't touch me!" she cried.

He sighed and then glared at Sabin. "All right, I'm gonna freaking screw you over."

"Chris, stop!" she called.

He turned to her.

"Don't try and drag me out of here, Chris, because I am exactly where I want to be right now." the Country Diva said with a mischievous smile, stunning Jericho even more.

"Heh heh, you heard her, dude, so why don't you haul ass, and leave right now—" Sabin began.

"Sab, shh. I got this." Mickie interrupted. "Jericho, I'm sorry, but…I—I didn't want you to find out this way."

He blinked. "Find out _what_?"

She replied by adjusting the blanket around her body, but Jericho picked up the pieces of the puzzle himself. "Wait, wait, so let me get this straight. You weren't forced into having sex with him? You did this with your own willing consent?"

"Yes, I did." she agreed calmly.

He sighed loudly and ran his fingers through his blonde hair, before turning back to her. "Why? Why now, Mickie? Look, I know that things between us are a little rough, but I'm working my ass off to try and fix things! Damn it, I made you the top woman in the WWE and THIS is how you repay me?!"

"Chris, this isn't the first time that I've done this." she announced.

"…WHAT?!"

Ok, now a part of Mickie did feel a little bit sorry that she was hurting someone who she once called a close friend, so she felt a few tears in her eyes. "Chris, I'm sorry, ok?" she uttered.

The Canadian nodded, not taking his angry eyes off of her. "How long? How long were you two screwing each other?"

Before she could answer, Sabin cut in and casually replied, "Honestly, it hasn't been that long, maybe a few weeks, a month. But we had tons of sex, so technically, it could count for like, three, four months."

"MONTHS?" Jericho demanded.

"Yes." Mickie answered. "Look, Chris, I just can't stop running to him. He's my best friend and my lover, and you know what the funny thing is? I don't _want _to stop."

As if Jericho couldn't get any more pissed off, he did.

"You've ruined me, Jericho. Because of you, I've lost all of my best friends, but once I distanced myself away from you, they all started to like me again." she continued.

"If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't be wearing that damn Women's title around your waist." he uttered.

"I don't deserve this title, AJ does. She won it fair and square, and because of YOU, I've lost the bond that I've had with my best friend! So think of this is a kind of…payback." she replied.

"PAYBACK?" he cried. "Mickie, I tried to help you. And I know I've made my mistakes, but THIS? Cheating on me? That's just crossing the line!"

"Look, I've had this affair because I wanted to break away from you! I wanted someone to make me feel good again, and Sabin's done just that. I know that having an affair is bad enough, but having it with your worst enemy, well, I just knew that it was enough ammunition to drive you up the wall." she said surely.

Sabin smiled along and added, "This just made your week, eh, dude?" before posing his Guns sign just to taunt him.

Jericho's hands balled into fists, with all kinds of crazy thoughts running through his mind.

"What's wrong, Jericho? Cat got your tongue?" Sabin asked while the blonde was silently facing the other way. "Can't turn around and look at the truth? Mickie and I belong together, dude. She was with me before you even came in the picture, and after all the crap that you've done to her, me, and everyone lately, this is exactly what you deserve! So what are you gonna do now, huh? You want to fight me, cause I'd be more than happy to throw a few punches across that smug little face of yours."

"Chris, stop, please." Mickie tried to calm him down.

"Mickie's MINE now, and I'll be DAMNED if you take her away from me again!" he continued with more anger in his voice.

The blonde shook his head.

"Jericho, look, maybe you should just leave right now, ok?" Mickie asked.

"No wait, hold on a sec, I'm not finished yet, babe." Sabin stopped her before turning back to his enemy. "And Chris, you know the irony of all this? You didn't want anyone else touching Mickie but you, but I got to touch her. I touched her everywhere, and I'll touch her again and again for as many times as she wants me to!"

"Sab!" Mickie cried, stopping him before things could get worse.

"And you know what, I can KEEP touching her because she's MY girlfriend again and there's not a damn thing that you could do about it!" he finished.

Jericho had heard enough, quickly reached into his back pocket, and pulled out a gun.

Not believing that this was real, Mickie's eyes widened and she tightly grabbed Sabin's arm while he finally shut up for the moment.

"You're wrong, Sabin. There's still one thing I can do." Jericho said with a sense of coldness in his tone, pointing the gun towards them. "I can kill you both."


	118. Chapter 118

**_AN: This chapter's short, and anything but sweet... (-insert evil laugh here-)_  
**

* * *

**Chapter 118**

Jericho was still holding Sabin and Mickie hostage, with his gun in tow.

"I never thought it'd come to this, Mickie. But how the hell could you do this to me? I divorced my _wife _to be with you, hell, I'm on the verge of losing my KIDS because of you!" he snapped.

"Chris…where did you get the gun?" Mickie asked slowly.

"Got it just a couple of days ago and hid it somewhere where you wouldn't find it. See, I knew that Sabin here had something to do with you straying away from me, so I got the gun for him." he explained. "Ironic, huh, Sab? A Gun for a Gun."

"You're sick." he replied in a low voice. "I don't care what you do to me, but don't you DARE threaten to hurt Mickie! This is between me and you!"

"Oh no, she's the main cause of all this!" Jericho argued.

Mickie threw on one of Chris's shirts and then got up and calmly approached the angry Canadian. "Chris? Put the gun down, we can just talk about this like adults."

"Mickie, what are you doing, come back here!" Sabin called, tugging her arm.

"It's ok, Sab, he's not gonna shoot me." she replied, not taking her eyes off of Jericho. "I know he won't."

He still held out the gun. "Oh yeah? What the hell makes you think a thing like that, Mickie?" he demanded.

"Because…hey, look at me. Because you still love me—"

"_SHUT UP!" _he roared, startling the Diva. "I don't give a damn about you anymore! For all I care, you're nothing but a faithless whore and a SLUT."

She could feel the tears springing to her eyes again. "No, I'm not." Mickie said in a small, scared voice.

"Come on, man, leave her alone!" Sabin exclaimed.

"No. Mickie, I have told you again and again. The more you run back to him, the greater chance he will have of hurting you again! I tried to keep you away from him for a good reason, but did you listen to me? No, you did not." Jericho continued. "God, you're so naïve! You can't learn from your own mistakes?"

"Chris. You don't want to do this, I'm warning you." Mickie replied, keeping her calm composure.

"Oh REALLY? Why the hell do you keep defending him?"

"Because I _LOVE_ him, Chris! I have always loved him." she exclaimed, wiping away a tear.

"Yeah, all while you were busy playing me for a fool." he replied.

"Jericho, let's be realistic here." Sabin spoke up. "Seriously, man, what does killing us have to solve for you? You're only going to end up behind bars, your wrestling career will be over with, you'll never play onstage with your band again, and worst of all, you'll lose your family over this, now is this really what you want to do?"

"Why not, Sabin? I'm actually feeling pretty lucky today. Besides, I think that I could get away with killing the two of you. I honestly have nothing to lose, anyway."

"Oh, really? You gonna tell that to your kids when you're getting shipped off to prison?" Sabin asked back, while Jericho's finger was placed onto the trigger.

"Hey, hey, Sab's right, Chris, you don't want to do this to us." Mickie said quickly. "Yes, you may look at me as a horrible person who's done a horrible thing, but don't resort to this! Think of your kids, they already have enough to deal with, with you and your wife getting a divorce, and they really don't need to see their father going to prison, either—"

"_**SHUT UP!"**_ Jericho screamed, his hand shaking with the gun.

Mickie jumped back in fear, while Sabin was ready to save her if need be.

After a pause and some heavy breathing, Jericho continued, "The only question going through my mind, is which one of you two I should shoot first."

The terrified Diva slowly turned around to look at Sabin, who gave her a scared look in return.

* * *

While all this was going on, Velvet had returned from her holiday in Florida. Now, she was still upset that Sabin had refused to join her and her family for Thanksgiving, but then decided that a few days apart was probably good for them both. She was feeling a lot happier, and she was willing to chat with him and was ready to restore their relationship to what it once was.

Heading up the elevator, she approached the Guns' hotel room, and went to open the door. To her surprise, though, the door was already unlocked.

"Huh? Oh, someone must already be home. Chris?" she called, entering the spacious room. "Baby, you in here?"

Then, from the bedroom, she was shocked to hear the sounds of two gunshots.


	119. Chapter 119

**Chapter 119**

After Velvet had heard the gunshots from the bedroom, her eyes widened and she rushed as fast as she could to the scene. "CHRIS! CHRIS?!" she screamed. Once she arrived to the door, she slowed down once she caught a regretful looking Jericho slowly stepping out of the room, looking down to the ground.

"Jericho? What the hell are you doing here and where did those sounds come from? They sounded like gunshots—" the blonde froze once she saw the Canadian slowly place his gun back in his pocket.

"Y-You…wha-what did you do?" she uttered.

Jericho refused to say a word and rushed out of the building.

She called after him, "Jericho, WHAT DID YOU DO?!"

After that, she rushed into the bedroom, to find that both Sabin and Mickie were still alive and unharmed, but the fact of the matter was, she caught them half naked in BED. Together. The blonde's jaw dropped once Sabin sighed and Mickie turned the tables by smirking triumphantly.

"What…the HELL?!" Velvet demanded.

"Hi, Velvet. About time you came to join us." the Diva smiled, while Chris sent the blonde a look.

"Tell me I'm dreaming right now." Velvet uttered.

"Vel…I'm sorry you had to find out this way." Sabin replied, shaking his head and wrapping an arm around his girlfriend. "But, it happened."

The Country Diva grabbed Chris's arm and added, "This isn't a dream, Velvet. And the fact that I've been sleeping with Chris is none of your damn business."

"He's mine, you whore, he's MINE!" the Knockout yelled. "Chris, I—I don't understand…"

"Look, it was only a matter of time before you were going to find out." he replied.

"Find out what?"

"That over the past few weeks, I've been having an affair with Mickie." he confessed, seeing his (soon to be ex)-girlfriend's eyes immediately tearing up.

"Chris, no, no…"

"Vel, it's the truth! Look, you and I both know that we've been going nowhere in this relationship lately, and the whole entire time, I've finally figured out that my heart belongs to Mickie and only her." he continued.

"You're lying." she whispered.

"No he's not, blondie." Mickie - who just not too long ago, was terrified of being held at gunpoint - replied, tossing back her hair. "Look, you've been making him miserable and I'm glad that he finally got the strength to get the hell away from you. Sab and I belong together. He's my very best friend in the world, and nobody, especially YOU, will split us up ever again!"

"I…I can't believe either of you! First, Chris, how about you explain to me why the hell Jericho was here with a gun? I walked in here hearing gunshots and my heart literally stopped for a second because I thought that you were dead! But instead, I walk in here and find you in bed with HER?!" Velvet demanded.

Before Chris could answer, Mickie spoke up again, "I gotta tell you, when Jericho was holding that gun at us, I've never seen him so angry before. It was like he snapped or something!"

"He could've killed you BOTH! Especially you, Chris, and I couldn't live with myself if anything had happened to you. But now after learning that you two slept together behind my back, I don't give a damn if Jericho had hurt either of you!" the blonde snapped. "How the hell could you?!"

"Vel, relax, he wasn't gonna shoot us!" Mickie replied. "But uh, he has a pretty bad aim since Jericho ended up shooting the wall back here instead." She looked back to inspect the two bullet holes into the wall. "That's gonna piss off the hotel staff for sure, but we can get ol Y2J to pay for it on our behalf." the Diva replied.

Velvet ignored her and turned to Sabin. "Chris, talk to me. Talk…to…me! I want to know why you just had to betray me after all these months and sleep with THAT." she said, pointing to Mickie.

The Detroit native sighed, slipped on his boxers and his jeans, and then approached her. "Like I said, Vel, I didn't want you to find out this way."

"So how long were you planning on keeping this from me?" she demanded. "Huh? Months? YEARS? Is this some sort of payback for me cheating on you all those years ago with Austin Aries? I apologized a million times for that, Chris, I thought that you understood!"

"Oh yeah, well maybe I DON'T understand, Jamie, maybe I'll NEVER understand! I know that I got back together with you because I said that I chose you, but the truth of it is, I only got back with you to make Mickie jealous." he revealed.

"WHAT?!" she demanded.

"Yeah. She ran off with Jericho so fast, and it drove me crazy. So had to get back with you to distract myself from being so miserable." he continued.

"So basically, the WHOLE entire time that we've been together, you've used me."

"No. Look, I did enjoy the time that we've spent together, but Vel, I can't ignore what my heart's telling me. It's telling me to be with Mickie." Chris replied.

"I—I don't understand." Velvet uttered again.

"Oh, what don't you understand, Velvet, Chris and I had sex! And it was a-freakin'-mazing!" Mickie exclaimed, trying to rile the blonde up even more. "Oh man, we were going at it so wild that we nearly broke the headboard!"

"And you call ME the whore." the blonde replied. "I really oughta punch your teeth down your throat right NOW!"

Before she could attack, Chris held her back. "Velvet, stop it, all right?"

"And YOU sit here defending every word that comes out of her mouth!" she cried back.

"Don't hold her back, Sab, Velvet's not a complete moron—well, actually she is, but you get what I'm saying." Mickie continued.

"Mickie, baby, it's ok. I got this." he told her before turning back to the blonde.

"You know what, screw you both, all right?!" Velvet cried, turning to leave. But before she could, she backtracked and stopped for a moment once the Diva began to talk again.

"Hey, blondie, I'm very, very sorry that circumstances had to bring us to this moment, but you brought this all onto yourself once you first arrived here to join us. But I just want you to know that Chris wasn't thinking about you at all when he was making passionate love to me." Mickie spoke up.

"Don't you dare, don't you DARE PUSH ME, you crazy BITCH!" Velvet snapped, lunging for her while Chris held her back.

"OH, what are you gonna do, you gonna kill me?" Mickie challenged.

"There's a first time for everything!" she cried back.

"Oh please, Jericho couldn't kill me and he's not even a defenseless cripple like you!" the Diva exclaimed.

"SCREW YOU!" she shrieked, lunging for her again.

"Velvet, knock it off! Look, I think you better go, all right?" he demanded.

"You're damn right I'm gonna go. I'm packing my things, and as soon as I get a chance, I'm moving back to Florida." she said in a rush, but before she left, she left Chris a calling card by roughly slapping him across the face. "I hate you." she finished, before storming out of the room and slamming the door behind her.

After that, Chris stood there, holding the side of his cheek when an angry Mickie asked, "Sab? Sab, how hard did she hit you?"

"Relax, babe, it wasn't that hard. Wasn't as hard as you slapped me that one time." he said with a chuckle. "Now THAT was painful."

She flashed him a smile and kissed his sore cheek.

"So, you ok?"

"Yeah, I think. I mean, I knew that we were eventually going to get caught, but I had no idea that Jericho was going to pull a gun on us." the Diva replied, sighing.

"Me neither. You think he was really going to shoot us?" he asked.

"I dunno. A part of me was sure that he wouldn't but another part of me was afraid that he would. But you know what, Jericho's gone now, and I feel the need to kick Velvet's ass for slapping you." the Diva replied.

"Oh Mickie, don't. I think she gets the point by now, let's just forget about her."

"I can't forget about her, Sab! I can't forget about what she just said to you, what she said to me, what she's done to our friends…I can't freaking stand her, and if she has the nerve to slap MY boyfriend, I'm not taking that crap lightly."

"Mickie—" he began.

"And we may be wrong for cheating behind their backs, I'll own up to that, but I'm damn sure that Velvet deserved seeing us in bed together."

"Baby, I admire you and I admire your feistiness, but it's over now. Everyone found out the truth, but the main thing is that you and I are together again and we don't have to hide that from anyone anymore." Sabin replied, wrapping his arms around her waist. "I love you."

She smiled. "I love you too. So much." the Diva replied, leaning in to give him a sweet kiss.

"Ok, now I'm heading in for a shower, you just make yourself comfy and as soon as I come out, we can forget about what just happened and enjoy the rest of the day together. All right?" he asked with a smile.

"But wait, I want to join you in that steamy shower. We get to do what we just did aaaalllll over again…" Mickie smiled back, running her hands up and down his chest.

He chuckled. "Well, how could I ever refuse an offer like that? Let's go, Sweet Mickie." he said, leading her away.

* * *

Later that day, Chris had headed out to visit CM Punk and Britani, while Mickie had headed to the hotel's lobby, getting a couple of drinks for herself and her boyfriend. Of _course, _Velvet was there too, sitting at a corner table and crying her eyes out over a half pint of chocolate ice cream. Mickie noticed the blonde and slowly shook her head, muttering, "Bitch."

Velvet sniffled and put down her purse, but when she turned around, she was surprised to find Mickie staring right at her from a distance. "Whore." she uttered to herself.

The Country Diva eyed her down and went on to the cashier's stand. "Hi, I'd like two iced coffees please? Thanks."

As soon as she turned around, she was startled when Velvet was suddenly behind her.

"Uh, do you mind?" Mickie demanded.

"You came down here just to see me upset, didn't you?" the blonde asked back.

She shrugged. "Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. MAYBE I just came down here to grab a couple of drinks for me and my boyfriend. Y'know, MY boyfriend Chris? Who belongs to ME? I think you USED to have him though, but I'm sure that's nothing but a funny memory for you." she said with a smile.

"I had him first and you know it." Velvet replied, crossing her arms. "Chris just came running back to you because that's all you're good for. Being leftovers."

"You're nothing but a fake." Mickie challenged back. "I mean, just look at you! Fake hair, fake nails, look at those boobies of yours! I wonder how much silicone they had to fill those babies with."

"Oh, you're cute, Mickie, real cute. You know, the only reason why you feel the need to insult me is because you're jealous of me." the blonde smiled.

"HA! Why in this life time would I ever be jealous of YOU?"

"Because back when Chris was in TNA with me, we had a bond that nobody could break. We were the IT couple, everyone was jealous of us. Everyone wanted to BE us! Nobody could split us apart, and you're just upset that you'll never have the bond that Sab and I had."

"Yeah, I'm sure everyone wanted to be you when you decided to cheat on the poor guy with someone else. Why'd you do it? Chris didn't want to give it to you at the moment, so as a desperate move, you crawled into the nearest locker room and asked for the first easy screw that you could get? That is just like you."

"It was a mistake!" Velvet cried. "You know what, I don't have time for you."

Mickie stopped her. "Oh, you're gonna make time for me, honey, because I'm not through with you just yet."

* * *

_**AN: Team Mickie or Team Velvet? You decide. ;) **_


	120. Chapter 120

**_AN: Round 2 of Mickie vs. Velvet! (-DING DING!-) ...I think this may be my favorite chapter, btw, lol._  
**

* * *

**Chapter 120**

Back in the hotel lobby, Mickie and Velvet were still facing off…

"You're not through with me?" Velvet asked back. "What else could you possibly have to say to me? Haven't you done enough?"

"No, I'm having a lot of fun, but thanks for asking." Mickie smiled. "In fact, I've had quite a lot of fun back in our hotel room. just ask Chris."

"Chris, right. Is that where you're going, to meet up with your once-again boyfriend to have a quick little screw with him?" the blonde asked. "You gonna screw just to spite me?" Then, she noticed Mickie's purse. "Ooh, what's in the bag? Toys? What, strap ons, dildos, edible condoms? Hey, I have a suggestion! Maybe if you have a pair of fuzzy handcuffs, you could pin Sabin to the bed to prevent him from running away."

"Running away?" Mickie repeated, unimpressed.

"Yeah, running away because eventually, he's going to get tired of you and he's gonna come running back…to me." Velvet said surely, pointing to herself.

"Why in the hell would he come running back to you if _you_ were the one that he cheated on in the first place?" Mickie asked back, to Velvet's dismay. "But sweetie, you were right about one thing. Sab's running, all right. He's running back into OUR hotel room, and I'm gonna welcome him with open arms. And open legs, if ya know what I mean."

The blonde nodded slowly and replied, "You're sick."

"No, I'm crazy." Mickie corrected her. "And Chris is just as crazy as I am. Hell, we're crazy for one another."

"Aww, how sweet, remind me to send you two a Hallmark card." Velvet replied.

"You're missing the point, Vel."

"Ok, explain to me, then."

"Kay…see, I believe that you deserve to know everything about Chris's and my affair. See, what we had wasn't the usual 'wham, bam, thank you ma'am' kind of sex. No, we first did it in the elevator. And we went at it like MAD, I mean, he banged me so hard that my screams were heard through the roof! And it didn't just stop there. We did it at work, in the showers, against the wall, on the floor…we needed each other so badly that if we didn't have each other right then and there, we probably would've went insane." she exaggerated, delighted to see Velvet's pissed off expression.

"You ARE insane."

"No, I'm satisfied. With everything. The sex, you walking in on us and me seeing the expression on your face." the Country Diva replied, grinning.

"You're proud of that, aren't you?" Velvet asked back. "You know, I really do feel sorry for Chris."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, because he knew that he shouldn't have gone anywhere near you. His head wasn't thinking, his _crotch_ was at the moment."

"Oh, blondie, just accept the truth! Chris is my boyfriend again and things are finally how they used to be! He can't get enough of me and I can't get enough of him!" the Diva exclaimed. "See, I bring out a side in him that he NEVER shows to anyone else! A…dangerous, primal, ruthless side that he unleashes when we're together and especially when we're in bed. Did you ever bring that side out of him, _Jamie? _When you had that one night stand with him, I bet you it only lasted about 3 minutes."

"You seriously need to shut the hell up right about now." the blonde said flatly.

"Oh my God, I just found another reason why you're so pissed off! Chris and I are here working in the WWE, the big leagues, making all the big money, while you'll eventually have to go back to your…second rate job. Then again, you're a second rate kind of girl."

"Oh really? You gonna peg me down with the job card now? Well at least I haven't been labeled as the locker room whore, unlike SOME people. I know that line ticks you off, doesn't it?" Velvet asked back.

Mickie huffed. "You really gonna bring THAT up?"

"Yeah. Everyone may put you on this high pedestal with you being the Women's Champion and whatnot, but you can't hide the fact that you just can't keep your damn legs closed. And when the day comes that you cheat on poor Sab, he'll come running back to me. Because let's face it, Mickie – I'M his original, _you're _the knockoff."

She nodded. "Hey, you know what I want to knock off right now?" Mickie asked, before sending Velvet stumbling back with a rough back hand slap.

"OH!" she cried, gaining her composure again.

"Your face." Mickie finished.

Velvet held the side of her cheek.

"Doesn't feel good being on the other end of the stick after you did the same to my boyfriend, now does it?" she continued.

"I'm warning you, Mickie, you do NOT want to do this now." the blonde replied.

"Of course I do!"

Then, the cashier arrived with Mickie's two drinks. "Uh, your order, ma'am." he said shakily.

"Thank you." she replied, her eyes not leaving Velvet.

"Yes, thank you." Velvet replied, grabbing one of the drinks.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing with that?" Mickie asked.

"Oh, nothing. Just thought that you needed to cool down a bit!" she snapped, splashing the iced coffee all over the Diva.

She gasped and whipped her hair back, while Velvet smiled in triumph. Then, Mickie nodded her head before snatching the second drink, violently splashing it all over the Knockout in retaliation.

"OH!" she cried, her blonde hair dripping wet.

"Had enough?" Mickie asked.

"Have you?" she asked back.

"I think I'm ready to wipe the damn floor with your skanky ass." she retaliated, getting in her face.

"I'd like to see you try that." she replied back.

"Be careful what you wish for." Mickie said threateningly.

Velvet eyed her down and finally replied, "You're lucky that I have other things to do. Move."

As she headed off, Mickie nodded and gave her a little shove. "Better hurry up, don't want to miss your next flight out of here."

The Knockout sighed and whipped around. "Did you just _touch_ me?"

"So what if I did? You gonna do something about it?" the Diva challenged back.

Velvet then growled and snatched Mickie's purse, while she tried to yank it out of her reach. Once the strap ripped, though, Mickie gasped and then looked up at the smirking blonde. "Oh, no you didn't." she uttered.

"Oopsie, looks like I just did."

Then, the two locked eyes, breathing heavily before Mickie went full on crazy mode and screamed, "STUPID BITCH!"

And right then and there, the two crashed into one another, grappling and trying their hardest to pull each other's hair out. Screaming a slur of threats towards one another, Velvet backed Mickie into a wall and had her hands wrapped around her throat, screaming, "UGH, I HATE YOU…AND I HATE…EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU!"

Mickie fought her off by roughly kicking her in the shin, backing the blonde away. Seeing that Mickie had kicked her in her bad leg, she shot a death glance back at her while Mickie did the same. Then, she let out a primal scream before tackling the blonde to the floor. _"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"_

There, the two rolled around, trying to throw in a few punches, while Velvet cried, "UGH…GET…OFFA ME!"

They rolled around so that the blonde was hovering over the brunette, trying to pin her down while Mickie tried to push her off. Then as a desperate move, Velvet covered her hand over Mickie's face, trying to smother her. "I'm gonna kill you. I'm gonna freaking KILL you!"

As a defense move, Mickie bit Velvet's hand to get her off.

"OW!" she screamed. "You BIT me!"

With her distracted, Mickie rolled around over Velvet and tried to pin her down, with the blonde struggling and screaming, "Get OFF OF ME, you PSYCHO BITCH!"

Mickie giggled. "Damn right, I'm psycho. And this psycho bitch is gonna MURDER YOU!" she screamed, wrapping her hands around the blonde's throat and proceeding to choke the life out of her. Velvet coughed and her eyes widened, before ramming her head to Mickie's in another defense move.

"AH!" Mickie cried, holding her head. "Really, bitch, REALLY?! THAT ALL YOU GOT?! COME HERE!" she continued, grabbing Velvet's leg while she tried to crawl away. "Where you going, you COWARD?!"

"Ugh…LET GO OF ME!" she cried back.

Before they could literally murder one another, Sabin rushed into the room to find his current girlfriend and his ex-girlfriend on the floor.

"Hey, HEY! Mickie, Velvet, KNOCK IT OFF!" he cried, rushing to restrain Mickie.

"You're so lucky that MY boyfriend came to stop me or else I would've done a lot worse." she called to the blonde.

"Really, you stupid bitch, why don't you go back to the hick town you were bred from?!" Velvet snapped.

"WHAT?!" she screamed back.

"Ok, everyone just be quiet for a second! Now who started the fight?" Chris demanded.

Mickie sighed. "Velvet was the one who approached me first, she made me mad, and that's how it all started."

"You are such a LIAR!" Velvet cried.

"HEY! Now look, we have all had a rough day, so Velvet you stay away from Mickie, Mickie, you stay away from Velvet, and everyone wins, all right?" he announced.

The blonde scoffed. "Whatever. You two really deserve one another. Have a nice life." she said, snatching up her bag and heading out somewhere where she could get the iced coffee out of her hair.

Meanwhile, Mickie sighed heavily and buried herself into Chris's chest, while he ran an arm up and down her back. "Hey, you all right, baby?"

"I guess. Bitch ripped my purse." she muttered.

"Ok, ok, I'll buy you a new one. Let's just get you cleaned up." he said, leading her away. "Man, where are Shelley and AJ when I need em the most?"


	121. Chapter 121

**Chapter 121**

Next Monday, the Guns had reunited for the next Raw show, and Alex, AJ, Chris, and Mickie were all in their locker room…

"Nice that we were finally able to get back together after Thanksgiving." announced Sabin. "Now let me ask you two a question: Where the HELL were you guys for the last 4 days?"

"Jeez, Chris, calm down!" AJ exclaimed. "Alex and I were just spending a couple of days to ourselves after the trainwreck that had happened at the Thanksgiving party."

"Trainwreck? What happened?" asked Mickie.

Alex sighed. "Where do we begin? I mean, first, everything was going great at my folks' house, everyone was having a good time, nothing was going wrong, but out of the blue, guess who knocks on the door?"

"Who?" asked Chris.

"Eve."

He and Mickie exchanged shocked looks. "Why?" they asked.

"Oh, she lied to Alex's parents and told them that she was homeless and had no place to stay for the holiday, do you believe that?" AJ demanded. "So she plays this little act just to come into the place and annoy Alex and I."

"Yeah, and it gets worse. The bitch apparently spiked my drink with Rohypnol and made me delusional for about 4 hours." Shelley continued.

"Rohypnol? Isn't that a date rape drug?" asked Sabin.

"You got it."

"Wait, wait, Eve didn't…have sex with you, did she?" asked Mickie.

"Well, I was out of it for the time being, so I had no idea what was going on."

"I'll finish the story, baby. So I walk up to Alex's old room looking for him, and when I open the door, I find that slut in nothing but her lingerie straddling over MY man! And well, you can both guess what happened from there." AJ explained.

"You kicked her ass and sent her into the street?" Chris asked with an amused smile.

"You got it."

"Atta girl!" he cheered, sharing a hand slap with her.

"Thanks. So after that, we took Alex to the hospital to be checked out and he turned out to be just fine. Thank God." she smiled, wrapping her arms around him.

"Indeed." Alex agreed. "So, if you guys could possibly come up with a worse way to spend a holiday than we did, I will uh…I'll eat my own hat."

Chris and Mickie couldn't help but to laugh.

"Are you serious, Shells?" asked the Country Diva.

"Hell yeah! I doubt you two had as bad a Thanksgiving as we've had!"

"Well uh, get ready to eat that hat of yours, cause you'll never believe what we're about to tell you." Sabin replied. "So Thanksgiving went fine, and when Mickie and I got back to the hotel, we uh, kinda…"

He took her hand while she smiled and blushed back at him. "…got back together." Mickie finished.

Alex and AJ exchanged surprised looks.

"You did?" AJ exclaimed. "Oh my God, I'm so happy for you guys!"

"Yeah, congrats! So how in the hell is this worse than our holiday?" Shelley asked with a smile.

"Let us finish!" Mickie exclaimed. "So we WERE just going to celebrate by watching TV, but we just got caught in the heat of the moment and…kinda ended up having sex anyway."

"Unfortunately, Jericho walked in and caught us in bed together." Chris added.

AJ gasped. "You serious? What did he do? Did he freak out?"

"Oh, he freaked out all right…and pulled a gun on us." he replied, getting serious.

Their expressions changed to shock.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, say that again?" Alex asked in disbelief. "A GUN?"

"Why?" asked the tiny Diva. "What was he even doing with one in the first place, oh my God, are you two ok?"

"We're fine, girlie. We almost had a close call, but we're ok." answered Mickie.

"Jericho had the gun because he assumed that I was the one who took Mickie away from him, so he was apparently out to get me." Sabin added.

"Dude, didn't you call the cops on him? That's like, attempted murder!" Alex exclaimed.

"We never got a chance to call the cops on anyone, because as soon as he left, Velvet walks in and SHE begins freaking out. Long story short, some words were exchanged, she ran out in tears, and later that day, she and Mickie nearly kill one another in the hotel lobby after a nasty catfight."

"I kicked that bitch's ass, by the way." Mickie said with a proud smile.

A smile grew on Alex's face. "YES! Great work, Mickie, wish I could've seen it!" he exclaimed, slapping her hand.

"Wow, you guys really did have a terrible holiday. Alex, maybe you shouldn't have told them that you were going to eat your hat." AJ said.

"Uh…"

Chris smirked along. "You made a promise, Alex, and you can't break it. Now eat the hat."

"Uh…uh, it was a fake promise!" he argued.

"Eat the damn hat, Alex!" Mickie exclaimed, laughing.

"Before we force feed it to ya!" Sabin replied, approaching him.

"The hell you will!" Shelley cried, grabbing his hat and then tossing it into the hall. "Nyah nyah."

"Wow, you're such a wimp." Sabin replied, before singing, "The wimpy wimpy spider ran up the wimpy spout—"

"You douchebag!" Alex snapped, charging after him while Chris laughed and ran around the room. The girls bursted out laughing while Alex tackled Chris down on the couch and began spanking him.

"Whoo, that's sexy!" AJ exclaimed.

"Alex, stop obsessing over my ass, you're weird! Only Mickie can obsess over my ass." Sabin said, shoving his friend off of him.

"Well don't make fun of me and it won't happen again." Shelley replied. Then, he looked around the room, smiling at the sight of all four Guns finally on the right page for once. "Y'know, guys, it's really nice that we're all back together again. Seems like we're getting our little family back."

The other three looked at one another and nodded in agreement.

"So…does this mean I'm really a part of the Guns again?" Mickie asked with hope.

"I say you definitely are." Chris replied, kissing her hand.

Alex nodded. "Hell yeah, sis, welcome back!" he exclaimed.

AJ smiled. "Welcome back to the gang, Mickie." she finished.

"Oh, you guys, I'm gonna cry." the Diva smiled. "But I'm so glad to hear that cause I've missed you all like crazy. At least I won't have to deal with Jericho tearing me away anymore."

"Yeah, I wonder where he is, anyway." agreed Sabin.

"In jail, hopefully." Alex replied.

Meanwhile, AJ couldn't help but to look at the Women's title that Mickie was still holding, and everytime she looked at that title, flashbacks of when Mickie had cost her that title kept playing in her head.

Mickie noticed her expression. "AJ? You ok?" she asked, before seeing that the tiny Diva was staring at her title. "Oh…AJ, I could forfeit this title if you want me to. I don't want you to look at this and remember what happened at Night of Champions."

She shook her head. "No, no, don't. I—I don't even care about the title anymore. See you guys later, I gotta get out there for my match." she said in a rush, heading off.

"Babe?" Alex called after her, concerned. "She left without me giving her her good luck kiss!"

"Is she all right?" asked Chris.

Mickie sighed. "I think she's still upset about me holding this title. Guys, I don't know what to do. I'd rather trade in this title to someone else, cause I just want my best friend back." she replied quietly.

* * *

Meanwhile, a crazed/pissed off Chris Jericho was indeed there at the arena, pacing the halls and mumbling incoherent thoughts to himself.

"I can't believe the nerve of those two, sleeping around behind my damn back! After everything I ever did for her and she does THAT to me?! Damn it, I hate them. I HATE THEM BOTH!" he screamed.

Dave Batista's locker room was closest to where he was, and he stepped out into the hall to join Chris.

"Criminy, man, what the hell's biting you?" he demanded. "I know you're supposed to be loud and annoying, but jeez!"

He ignored that comment and replied, "You want to know what's biting me?"

"I think that's what I asked you."

"Well, get this – a little less than a week ago, I come back to the store looking for Mickie. I couldn't find her in our room, so as usual, I have to head all the way to the Guns room, because whenever she disappears, she usually runs straight to her 'BFF' Sabin. So I open the door and at first, I don't hear anything. Five seconds later, I kick open the bedroom door and what do I find? Mickie and Sabin screwing each other in plain sight." he explained.

"Aw, man. So what'd you do?" asked Dave.

"I did the only thing I could do – I pulled a gun on them and threatened to kill them both." he said simply, while Dave raised his eyebrows.

"Dude."

"It's true!"

"Wow. Well, judging by the way that I saw both of them here tonight, you obviously didn't pull the trigger." the muscled Superstar replied. "What held you back?"

"I don't know, man. When I was pointing that gun at them, tons of thoughts ran through my head. But suddenly, I began thinking about my kids and then realized, what the hell was I about to do? If I were going to hurt either of them, I'd be headed straight to jail and I'd never see my kids ever again. I don't want them to grow up without me." he explained with a sigh. "So that's why I didn't shoot anyone."

Dave put a hand over his shoulder. "Chris, I know what you've gone through was pretty rough and I'm sorry you had to find out this way. But I told you that Mickie was the biggest slut around here! She moves on from guy to guy, me being one of them at one point."

"She cheated on you, too?" he asked.

"Well, we weren't really _dating_-dating, but we were an item, and she moved onto someone else behind my back. That's when I started the rumors about her." Dave replied.

"Yeah, but dude, I've been in love with Mickie for years. I can't get over her that quickly."

"But you want to make her pay for what she's done to you, don't ya?" he asked.

"Of course I do."

"Ok, well you should be glad that you told me this, because I have a personal issue with both Sabin and Mickie. If you want revenge on them, I'm the guy that can make it happen." replied Batista.

"Really? What could you do?"

As a reply, he wrapped an arm around his shoulder and led him down the hall. "Let's go to Johnny's office and the three of us could discuss things together. Trust me, Sabin and Mickie will definitely pay for what they did to you." he smirked.


	122. Chapter 122

**Chapter 122**

A little later that night, AJ was currently in the middle of a one on one match against Beth Phoenix. As the match was winding up, Beth currently had the advantage, pummeling the tiny Diva with a backbreaker, followed by a seated double chickenwing, trying to make the brunette submit. She struggled not to tap out as the crowd cheered her on, and soon enough, she slowly managed to counter the move and kicked Beth off of her.

Finally, AJ attacked back with a wheelbarrow bulldog, and she was about to follow with her finisher of a Sliced Bread #2. Before she could, though, she saw that Eve had arrived at ringside and was deliberately trying to distract her by yelling incoherent what-nots towards her. AJ made the mistake by letting go of Beth and turning to yell back at Eve, and while she had her back turned, the Glamazon gave her a low blow to the leg, causing the tiny Diva to fall to the mat. After that, Eve slid into the ring and proceeded to relentlessly attack the brunette, allowing Beth to join in. With the two heels cornering the tiny Diva into the corner, the boos from the crowd were heard and soon enough, AJ felt totally defenseless. Just about as defenseless as she'd felt when both Eve and Del Rio attacked her that one night. Finally, the boos soon turned into cheers once Mickie James went speeding down the ramp and entered the ring with a steel chair in hand. AJ didn't get a chance to see who else was there, as Eve and Beth whipped around to find the Country Diva, they tried to scatter, but Mickie stopped them both in their tracks with a chair shot to the back of Eve, and a rough chair shot to Beth's midsection. While she doubled over in pain, Eve helped her out of the ring, when Mickie ushered them away and tossed the chair aside.

Once they were out of the way, Mickie turned to find AJ still crouched down in her corner, looking back up at her with wide eyes. Wanting AJ to see that Mickie was truly sorry about everything, she crouched down and helped the tiny Diva to her feet, looked into her eyes and then wrapped her arms around her in a tight hug. Immediately wrapping her arms around the Country Diva in return, the crowd cheered while Mickie pulled away, looked her in the eyes, and said, "AJ, sweetie, I am so sorry. I'm sorry I took your title away from you, and I'm sorry that I betrayed you. Could you ever forgive me?"

With a tear streaming down her face, AJ nodded and replied, "Yes, Mickie, I forgive you. I'm just happy to have my best friend back."

Mickie giggled. "Me, too! C'mon, let's get backstage to see our Guns."

And as they took hands and headed up the ramp, the two raised their arms while the crowd chanted, "MMG! MMG! MMG! MMG!"

Soon after, the two were still hand in hand to be met with Chris and Alex.

"Aww, looks like our two favorite girls are finally back together!" Shelley exclaimed.

"Yeah, that was beautiful out there. And you're beautiful, too." Sabin replied, giving Mickie a kiss.

"So are you." Alex agreed, wrapping an arm around AJ's waist. "And by the way, you left before I could give you your good luck kiss."

"Aw, sorry I left you high and dry. Come here and let me make it up to you." she replied, pulling him down for an intensely passionate kiss, while Mickie shrugged and did the same with Chris. Then, the girls looked at one another, giggled, and simultaneously pulled their respective boyfriends into their locker room by their collars, while Alex and Chris quickly exchanged smiles.

"Oh dude, we're gonna SCORE!" Shelley cheered.

"WOO HOO!" Sabin exclaimed before the door shut behind them.

* * *

Meanwhile, Chris Jericho was in Johnny L's office, discussing their ongoing plans…

"Ok, so are you sure you can have this carried out?" the Canadian asked.

Johnny was scribbling something down on a few papers and then picked up his phone to check a text. While he texted back, he smirked and nodded. "Yep, as long as Dave sticks to the plan, everything should go as smooth as silk. I—"

Someone knocked on the door. "Come in!"

Eve poked her head in the room. "Is this a bad time?"

"Yes!" Jericho snapped.

"Not at all. Come on in." Johnny answered, ignoring him.

"Sir, we're in the middle of something here!" Chris exclaimed.

"Just hold on, Chris, this'll only take a minute. Eve, what do you need, darling?"

"I still never got my Diva's-uh-Women's title shot yet! What more do I have to do to finally get one?" she asked.

"How about you try swinging by later, I got here first." Chris interrupted.

"Oh shut up, Jericho!" she snapped.

"No, YOU shut up!" he argued.

"Guys, GUYS!" Ace exclaimed. "Now settle down. Eve, I know that you deserve your title opportunity and I'll get you one. But we'll talk about it later, ok? Enjoy the rest of your evening."

She pouted and sent a glare Jericho's way before leaving the room.

"All right, good, she's gone. Now back to the plan!" Jericho exclaimed.

"Right. As I was saying, according to Dave here," Johnny began, checking his phone. "Things are going good so far. He's already there."

* * *

At the Raw crew's hotel, a depressed Velvet was sitting in her own room, since she had to move out of the Guns' room after everything that's happened lately. Lying on the bed, she absentmindedly channel flipped, finding absolutely nothing that captured her interest.

"I can't believe this." she muttered to herself. "I can't believe any of this! Right now, Sab and I should be in here together enjoying each other's company and instead what happens? He's off living it up with his _Mickie, _and I'm trapped in here all by myself." She sniffled. "Why'd he have to leave me for her? Right now, I can't stand either one of them! I guess there's no other reason for me to be tagging around with those guys anymore. I should just pack my things and head back to Florida right now, for all I care."

Then, there was a knock at the door.

She grunted and called, "Chris, GO AWAY! I don't want to talk to either you or your little whore of a girlfriend!"

There was a pause, before the knock came again.

"God, why won't he get the message?" the blonde muttered, getting up and opening the door. "Chris, I told you to—"

Dave Batista stood there with a sick grin on his face. "Hi. Remember me?"

She gasped, remembering what he, Ziggler, and Swagger nearly did to her in the locker room a few months ago. "Y-You. What the hell do you want? How'd you find my room?" she uttered, backing away.

"I have my ways. Hey, you DO remember me, right? I touched your leg and almost took you right then and there in that locker room." he smirked even wider.

"Yeah, I remember and I want you to get the hell away from me before I call the cops on you, you creep!" she cried, trying to slam the door in his face, but his foot was strong enough to block the door from shutting.

"I'm not leaving, Vel. And I'm not leaving without you." he replied.

"Wha—what are you talking about?" she asked, genuinely scared.

"You're coming with me for a little ride. And you're going to shut up and not say a word while I'm taking you outta here."

Terrified, she quickly tried to escape him when he forcefully wrapped one arm around her waist and another hand around her mouth, hearing her muffled screams of horror.

"_MMMMMMMMMMM!"_ she shrieked.

"I told you to SHUT UP and come on! We're outta here." he said, dragging her kicking and screaming out of the room. Of course, he had to take her out of the back of the hotel to prevent anyone from seeing her being kidnapped.


	123. Chapter 123

**_AN: Sorry I haven't posted in a while. Haven't been up to it lately..._  
**

* * *

**Chapter 123**

The next day, Chris and Mickie were in the Guns' hotel room, making up for lost time by engaging in a serious make out session. Breaking away for a moment, he smiled at her and asked, "Where has someone as gorgeous as you been all my life, Sweet Mickie?"

"Where has someone as gorgeous as _you _been all my life, Chrismeister?" she smiled and asked back, before giving him another kiss. "Y'know, I've always loved those sideburns of yours."

"Oh? How come?"

She traced her finger down his jawline. "I dunno, they make you look…fierce. They kinda give you that wild and crazy look." she replied.

"Oh, do they? Well, my sideburns just happen to match your feisty, wild, and crazy personality, so we're a perfect fit." he said with a smirk.

"Wow, it seems kinda strange to compare someone's facial hair to a personality, but you say weird things all the time, so I'm used to it." the Diva said with a giggle.

"Oh, are you calling me weird now? You're gonna pay for that!" he laughed, tackling her over across the bed to the point where they were play wrestling. Mickie laughed and tried to fight him off, exclaiming, "Sabin, if you don't get off of me, I'll twist your arm back and make you cry again!"

"But I don't want to get off of you, you're too sweet and adorable to resist!" he exclaimed, not seeing that they were rolling towards the edge of the bed. Soon enough, they both rolled off and landed on the floor with a loud thud, followed by the lamp next to them falling down and breaking.

"Ow!" they exclaimed, sitting up, before they laughed.

"You're totally paying for that." Mickie announced, playfully shoving him down.

He pulled her down so that she was lying over him. "I shouldn't have to pay for a shoddy lamp that breaks on carpet!"

"Well—well, it's still all your fault!" she exclaimed.

"Well, is _this _my fault?" he asked, pulling her down to give her a sweet kiss.

She smiled. "ALL your fault. I love you so much, Sab."

"I love you too, Mickie." he smiled back, kissing her again. "It is so good to have moments like this again, ain't it?"

"You bet your sexy ass it is." she nodded, mindlessly looking up at the ceiling with him.

After a comfortable silence, Chris asked, "Mickie?"

"Yeah, Chris?"

"Any idea why we're looking at a blank ceiling?"

"No." she replied, laughing and then turning back to him. "But I know one thing: It sure is great not having Velvet hovering around here anymore."

"It is, isn't it? But I can't help but to wonder where she went. I haven't seen her since I dragged you away from that catfight."

"Who cares where she is, Sab? Who knows, she probably went back to Florida or something." she replied.

"Yeah, probably. Oh well, the less we see of her, the better. Ah, I'd seriously hate to get up right now, but I gotta head out and do some grocery shopping. Alex will kill me if I don't get another box of fruit popples soon." he said, groaning as he got up and helped her up.

"Haha, no prob, I actually have to go too. Britani and Kaitlyn are staying at the hotel next door and I gotta visit them." she replied.

"Oh, are you guys on the right page now?" he asked.

"I really hope so. They saw how I saved AJ out in the ring last night and they wanted to talk to me. I just hope they're willing to be my friends again." the Country Diva replied nervously.

He kissed the top of her head. "Don't be nervous, babe, I'm sure they'll love you again."

"Okay. See you later, babe, I love you lots."

They shared another kiss. "I love you lots more." he said with a chuckle, watching her walk off. He sighed happily. "What a woman…"

* * *

Meanwhile, Alex and AJ were hanging out at McDonalds for breakfast. The weird thing was, though, AJ didn't seem to be her usual, peppy self that morning.

The tiny Diva absentmindedly stared out of the window while Alex tried to get her attention and called, "April? Hellooooo? Your sexy boyfriend is trying to get your attention!"

She laughed and turned back to him. "Ooh, sorry Shells."

"Everything ok, babe? You've been pretty quiet all morning and you haven't had any breakfast yet."

"Well, to be honest, babe, I don't really have much of an appetite right now."

He reached over to feel her forehead. "Really? You're not sick or anything, are you?"

"No, no, I'm fine. It's just…I got a call from Laurinitis this morning and he said that I was scheduled for an autograph session with Del Rio at noon." she announced.

"What?" he asked, surprised.

"Yeah! Alex, I can't stand the guy! I can barely stand near him for two seconds, so how the hell am I going to be able to deal with him for two HOURS?" she asked.

"Damn." he said, getting angry. "Leave it to Laurinitis to do crap like this. Hey, why don't you just no-show the signing?"

"As much as I'd like to, baby, I can't. If I did, Mr. L would have my head, and I really don't want to let my fans down. Let's just face it, there's no getting out of this one."

"Well, if there's no getting out of it, then I'm coming with you. Del Rio can't lay a hand on you if I'm there to kick his ass." Alex said surely.

As a reply, the Diva sighed and shook her head, before replying, "Johnny's words, not mine: 'If you bring that boyfriend of yours along, I'll be sure to have him fired in a heartbeat.' End quote."

Shelley growled and pounded a fist over the table. "Damn that son of a bitch!"

"I know! But I'm trying to look at this in a positive light. I go there with him, sit there for two hours and do what I have to do, it's over, and a happy AJ is running back into her man's arms back at home." the tiny Diva replied with a smile.

Alex took her hands and nodded. "I liked that last part," he chuckled. "But ok, guess we don't have a choice. But just remember to have your phone on you at all times, and if he tries anything with you, give me a call and I'll be right there in a flash."

She nodded. "You got it. I love you, Baby Bear."

He flinched a little at the name, causing her to laugh, but he broke into a grin and replied, "Aw, I love you too, Crazy Chick. Here, I know you're feeling a little bummed out, so here's a nice, warm cookie to make you feel better."

"Aww, thank you, I love nice, warm cookies! Hey wait…this place doesn't sell cookies at 9:30 in the morning." she said, raising an eyebrow.

"I know."

"So how'd you get it?" she questioned.

He paused. "…I stole it off of someone else's tray."

AJ laughed and playfully hit him. "You thief!"

"Shut up, I did this for you!" Alex laughed, playfully shoving her back.

* * *

Meanwhile, Dave had kidnapped Velvet in a place not too far from where she was taken in the first place – to the hotel next door to theirs. The blonde was a hysterical mess, having her wrists and ankles tied together, and a handkerchief tied around her mouth. Plus, the fact that she had to stay tied up all night wasn't too great, either.

"MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!" Velvet tried to scream for the millionth time.

Dave, who was texting something, sighed and turned to the blonde. "Sweetie, just stop yelling, all right? Nobody's ever gonna hear you and frankly, you're getting on my last nerve."

"That's what I'm trying to do, you crazy son of a bitch!" Velvet said in a muffle. "What the hell do you want from me? I never did ANYTHING to you!"

"I know, I know, but I'm only doing this for a friend of mine. He was hurt pretty badly the other day and I just wanted to do the brotherly thing and…I dunno…make him proud, I should say." he replied.

"Proud? By kidnapping me and holding me hostage? What friend of yours are you possibly trying to help?"

"Oh, you might know him. Chris Jericho?"

Her eyes widened a bit. "This was HIS idea? But what did I ever do to him?"

"Jeez, do I have to explain everything?" he asked back. "You didn't do anything to him, it was my idea to kidnap you in order to indirectly hurt Sabin. Since you're his girl—EX-girlfriend and all. Once he finds out that you're missing, he'll go looking for you and he'll fall right into my trap. And with him out of the picture, Jericho will have his sense of closure. And that's not even the whole plan, isn't that cool?"

The blonde grunted and tried to untie herself, to no avail. "Chris doesn't want anything to do with me, and I don't want anything to do with him anymore, now that he's being all happy with his Mickie. So if Chris isn't gonna come, there's no point in keeping me here. Untie me." Velvet replied.

"Uh, I wouldn't be so sure, Vel. Like I said, there's more to the plan, and I intend that it gets carried out in its entirety." Dave said with a smirk.

The blonde whimpered and squirmed around, as he approached her. "No…I don't want to be here, I want to go home…please let me go."

"I'm sorry, sweetums, but I just can't do that. And if you don't stop squirming around like that, we're gonna have a serious problem." the muscular Superstar replied.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" she screamed again, hoping that someone, anyone outside in the halls could hear her. "HELP! HELP ME!"

Dave sighed and cried over her, "You don't think I'm being serious about this, do ya?! DO YA?! Well, maybe THIS will teach you when to shut up!"

As he said this, he proceeded to tie the bondage around the blonde's ankles even tighter, making her whimper in fear. He looked over her terrified form and smirked a little. "Wow, I knew you looked like a porn star, but bondage looks pretty damn hot on you. Who knew that you could turn a guy on by being tied up?"

Her eyes widened. "No, no, you stay AWAY from me!"

"Why should I? Your name is Velvet Sky, your body's bangin', and that sex tape that I watched of you and Sabin really showed off your moves. I knew that you just had to be a screamer in bed." he continued.

"You're a disgusting pig." she said, trembling.

"No, I'm just a single guy checking out a hot blonde in the privacy of a hotel room. I mean, I knew I'd one day get you into a hotel room alone, but not like this!" he chuckled. "Nobody else knows we're here, so why shouldn't I get a quick screw out of you?"

"So what, are you going to rape me now or something?" she asked, tears streaming down her face. "Because that'll just add up to the list of charges you already have – kidnapping, assault, harassment, need I go on?"

"Well, those are some pretty empty charges considering the fact that nobody will ever know about this." he replied. "But as much as I'd like to screw you right now, I have other things to do."

She sighed in relief, but was still angry. "I HATE YOU!"

"Oh?" he asked, before rushing back to her and grabbing her by the hair, roughly tilting her head up so that she looked him in the eyes. "You hate me? Well, you better watch what you say, Princess, because you are in no position to piss me off right now. You know, this actually IS all your fault."

"W-Why?"

"Cause if you had just stayed your pretty little ass back in TNA where you belong, absolutely none of this would have happened. You decided to whore around with Sabin, he and his girl broke up because of you, Jericho wouldn't have gotten back together with that little slut Mickie, he wouldn't have gotten his heart crushed, and he wouldn't have come to me and Johnny with this plan. So I suggest that you shut up before you land yourself in a world of trouble." he finished, before letting her go. "Now what I gotta do is think about what the hell I'm going to do with you."

* * *

Later that day, AJ and Del Rio's autograph session was finally finished, and the tiny Diva was relieved that she could finally get the hell away from this guy and head back to the hotel with Alex.

"_We love you, AJ!"_ a couple of teenagers called while both they and the Diva parted ways.

She giggled and called back, "I love you guys!"

Del Rio rolled his eyes. "These people are nothing but morons, every last one of them. I cannot believe I was ordered to sit here and sign my name over and over again for them." Well, that was a _part _of his order from Johnny. He wasn't going to mention the part of the order that he was looking forward to.

AJ sent him a look. "These _people _are what made us in the first place! If it weren't for them and their support, none of us would even have the jobs the we have, so before you go and trash talk them, why don't you just do me and the world a favor and just shut the hell up?"

He chuckled. "I just love your feistiness, I really do."

"Wow, it's no wonder why pretty much everyone that came wanted my autograph instead of yours. Shows how much of an impact you're making." the Diva said, chuckling bitterly.

"Like I said, April, I do not care about these idiots! The only person who I care about is you. I definitely have to thank Johnny for at least putting you and I together on this trip."

She sent him a disgusted look and replied, "You CARE about me? Really? And this is coming from the same guy who not too long ago, nearly beat me senseless with a friggin steel chair?! You're nothing but scum, who deserves to rot in prison for all I care."

"April, dear, your _mind _says these things, but not your heart. Your heart says otherwise."

"Yeah, my heart belongs to Alex and only him." she replied surely, as they approached their rental car. She had her hand on the driver's side door.

"Whoa, what the hell do you think that you're doing?" he demanded.

"I'm driving."

"No, you're not. I am."

"You're not the boss of me!" she exclaimed, about to step into the car when his arm pulled her and jerked her back out. Not letting go, his eyes pierced into hers while she uttered, "Stop it, all right? You're hurting me!"

"And I will do much worse if you step behind that steering wheel. Now go to the passenger's side and stay there. I will do the driving. Ok, _mamacita?"_

Realizing that he wasn't playing any games, she jerked her arm out of his grip and trudged along to the other side of the car, getting inside while he chuckled. He totally had her in his command, and it felt oh, so good.


	124. Chapter 124

**_AN: Sorry if this chapter's a little too long. A lot happens here, though..._  
**

* * *

**Chapter 124**

Back in the hotel…

Dave was sitting against a wall, while Velvet tried again and again to at least attempt to untie herself. The muscular Superstar glanced back at Velvet, who was staring straight back at him.

"Can you stop?" he asked.

"Stop what?" she asked scornfully.

"Stop—stop LOOKING at me! I can't think when you're looking at me! God…" he sighed, getting back up. "You know what, I'm going to take a shower to clear my thoughts. And with me being the generous person that I am, I won't leave you here in silence. Hold on." he began, before turning on the TV. "There you go. Watch Spongebob and enjoy. And whatever you do, don't make a peep. Be right back."

Once he headed into the bathroom, Velvet eyed him down and looked at the TV in shock. Did he REALLY expect her to forget the fact that she was tied up in a strange place with a strange guy by watching cartoons? But once she heard the sounds of the TV, she got an idea. Squirming ahead, she saw the remote placed at the foot of the bed, and she used her heels to try and turn the volume up on the TV in hopes of someone outside hearing it.

Once the volume did increase, there was a loud knock on the door and Velvet smiled a little. Maybe someone was there to save her!

Dave, on the other hand, had to stop his shower short to see what the hell was going on. He wore nothing but a towel around his waist. "Really, Velvet, did you do this crap on PURPOSE?!" he demanded, quickly turning the volume back down. "Man, I try and do a nice thing for you and you try and take advantage of me! Well, not anymore. Look, I'm gonna get rid of whoever's at the door, and you just keep your pretty little mouth shut, you hear me?" he muttered, earning nothing but a glare from her. Once he opened the door, he found a guy, probably a fellow resident of the hotel, standing there.

"What do you need?" Dave asked quickly, closing the door behind him so that the guy wouldn't see Velvet trapped inside.

"Well first, why don't you put some clothes on and second, I couldn't help but to hear the TV blasting from out here." he replied.

"So what's it to you?" he asked back.

"Well, do you mind turning the TV down, there are other people in here, including me, a retired cop, trying to get some peace and quiet." he replied.

Velvet inched forward, trying to see who was there.

"Oh, you're a retired cop, huh? Well, am I supposed to be afraid of you since, y'know, can't legally arrest me anymore?" Dave asked back.

"Look, buddy, I may not be able to arrest you, but I can damn well report you to the feds! Now I'm not gonna ask you again – turn the damn noise down!"

"Yeah, no. Beat it, will ya?" Dave asked, slamming the door on him, but the cop held his foot out, preventing the door from closing. Dave turned back around.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Batista demanded.

"Look, man, are we gonna have an issue here?" the guy asked back. "I'm asking you nicely to turn the TV down!"

"Buddy, trust me, you do NOT know who you're messing with here." Dave replied, shaking his head.

"Oh, is that a threat? Ok, this is the last time I'm asking nicely, you either turn the TV down or I'm gonna come in there and do it for ya!" the man exclaimed.

Velvet nodded in approval. Another guy, a retired COP, to be specific, would be the perfect person to try and rescue her. But her hopes were shot down when Dave replied, "I think you better move your foot away from this door before I put a bullet through it."

"Oh, so now are you implying that you have a gun stashed in here somewhere?" he asked back, to the shock and terror of Velvet.

"Maybe I do have a gun, but what does it matter to you? You have no right butting into my business, so why don't you get the hell outta here?!" Dave exclaimed, slamming the door in his face.

Velvet slumped in defeat and glared at the Superstar.

He looked back at her. "…WHAT? Don't you give me that look, you blonde bitch. This is all your fault." he began, approaching her and punishing her by tying the fabric around her mouth even tighter, making her flinch. "Trying to turn up the volume, you really think that's gonna save you? Well, I'll fix you. See, Velvet, you don't know me very well. If you did, you'd know that you should never test my patience. Because when you do, you make me mad. Very mad. Now you just stay the hell put and DON'T try any more stunts!"

Once he walked off, Velvet noticed that her phone was a few feet away from her on the bed. Desperate to call anyone, mostly Sabin, she inched forward again and tried to retrieve the device. After about 10 minutes of trying and failing to grab the phone, the bathroom door opened again and she quickly froze.

Dave, who was dressed again, replied, "Ok, I gotta head out there for a few minutes to take care of something and maybe even get something from the vending machine downstairs. I'll uh, even be nice and get you a pack of skittles."

She eyed him down.

He continued, "This can't go on forever, Velvet. This is gonna end somehow." before heading out of the room.

Once he was out of sight, Velvet quickly resumed trying to grab her phone.

Dave, in the meantime, headed right down the hall to meet with the one woman he wanted to see turning the corner. He smiled. "Mickie! Oh my God, what a coincidence! I was hoping to find you here."

The Country Diva, on the other hand, crossed her arms and suspiciously eyed him down. "And just why is that?"

* * *

Out on the road, Del Rio was still driving both himself and AJ back from their autograph session…

The tiny Diva crossed her arms and angrily stared out of the window the whole time, catching Del Rio smiling and sending her glances every two seconds.

She finally turned to him and slowly said, "…Will you please stop looking at me?"

He chuckled. "Ah, but how could I resist, darling? You are too beautiful for me NOT to look at."

"Try and flatter me all you want, you're still just a sleaze and a douchebag." she muttered.

"I just don't understand, April. Why do you want to continue being with that low class boyfriend of yours when you could instead be with me, someone from a wealthy background and someone who could fulfill your every desire?"

"Do you REALLY need to ask me such a stupid question, Alberto? YOU, are dirt. No, you're _lower _than dirt! In fact, both you and my father are alike, because you're both evil. But the thing is, neither of you will ever break up Alex and I. I'd much rather be happy living middle class with my Alex than being miserable and rich with you. So does that answer your question?" she asked back.

The Mexican snarled and didn't give a reply.

AJ smiled a little, hoping that her words had caused him to finally shut up, and waited and waited to see when they'd arrive back at the hotel. She soon began thinking happier thoughts, like when she was reunited with her boyfriend, they'd head out to see the new Spider Man movie that they'd both been dying to see. After all, they both went batshit crazy when the last Avengers movie came out, and they had waited on line for hours just to get tickets. While they were there, Alex also had to fight a few guys in line just to get a good spot, which made AJ laugh a little out loud.

"What is so funny?" Del Rio asked.

She paused and muttered, "Nothing."

After a few minutes of silence and non-stop driving, she was seriously beginning to get worried.

"How come we're not back at the hotel by now?" she asked.

As a reply, he turned to glance at her, and then turned back to the road and began chuckling. Once his chuckling began to turn into rich laughter, AJ really began to get scared and suddenly came to a realization – this guy was kidnapping her.

* * *

At the hotel…

"Well uh, I just heard the news about you and Sabin surprising Jericho that other day while you two were in bed. You really hurt the guy's feelings." Dave said to Mickie.

"Yeah, yeah, you and everyone else knows." she said, rolling her eyes. "Look, I do feel bad about what I did to Jericho, but he wasn't treating me any better, so he kinda deserved it!"

"Wow, girl, you're a cold one."

"I—Wait, why the hell am I even standing here and talking to you?" she asked.

"Because we're old acquaintances and you can't help but to spill your innermost thoughts and feelings to me?" he asked back.

"Look, you're nothing but a jerk, ok? You've made my friends' lives a living hell, you've caused Sabin enough pain, and you've scarred me for life after you spread that rumor about me!" she snapped.

"Rumor? Babe, I've only spread nothing but the truth, all right? You're known for bouncing from guy to guy, getting them in bed, and then moving onto the next one! Me being one of your victims, anyway."

She glared at him. "That's a lie, and you know it. Yes, I may have been with quite a few people, but all I've been trying to do is find Mr. Right. And after all this time, I've finally found him in Sabin. I love him to death, and nothing's ever going to change that."

"So you say now. We'll see what happens in a week when you're knocking on CM Punk's hotel room door." replied Dave.

"What?! He's only my friend, and he has a girlfriend already!"

"So? That wouldn't stop you."

"You know what? Screw you." she said, rushing off, but was stopped once he grabbed her arm. "What the hell are you doing?"

"You can't just leave in the middle of a conversation, I'm not finished with you yet!"

Inside of the room, Velvet had finally grabbed her cell phone and tried to text something to Sabin, but once her phone slipped out of her reach and fell under the bed, she groaned and tried to lean under to grab it. While she did, though, the lamp beside her fell from the bed stand and shattered. Her eyes widened.

From out in the hall, both Mickie and Dave heard the crash, too.

"What was that?" Mickie asked.

"Uh, none of your business, I just have a guest who's a little…excited." he lied.

"_MMMMMMMMM!"_

Mickie's expression turned to confusion while she said, "That was a scream."

Dave frowned.

"Look, something's up here and I think I better get the hell outta here." she said, heading off again.

Dave stood in her path and looked down at her. In a low, threatening tone, he replied, "I'm afraid that I can't let you leave, Mickie."

* * *

Meanwhile, Jericho was driving along in his car and trying to collect his thoughts about everything running though his mind – Mickie, Sabin, the plan with Dave and Johnny, and the fact that he was still carrying his gun. In fact, he had a spare gun in the back seat, too. Once he turned a corner, he decided to stop the car along the side of the road and sighed, holding his head in his hands.

"Oh Mickie…look what you're making me do." he muttered to himself. "I don't think I've ever been crazier for a girl like you, hell, I never thought I'd risk losing my entire family just to be with you, and you go ahead and pull a stunt like you did?! I really should be hating you right now, but…I can't. I'm not gonna lie, I haven't been the best boyfriend, either. Maybe…maybe you and Sabin really do belong together. I mean, who am I to ruin what you guys have? I still have a wife back at home who I should be with…and yet I can't get you out of my head."

He turned back to look at his guns.

"Wow. What kind of monster am I?" he questioned, resting his head on the steering wheel. Suddenly, his phone went off and he saw that Johnny was calling him. He halfheartedly picked it up. "Yeah?...Yeah, I know about the plan, Dave's supposed to…huh?...WHAT? John, you never told me that he'd be doing any of that!...No! No, I—I'm sorry, man, but that's crossing the line. I-wait, wait!—" he was cut off when Johnny hung up. "Oh my God, I—I gotta stop this before things get out of hand. I can't have him hurt Mickie like this." he exclaimed, starting the car again and roaring down the road. He knew exactly where he had to go next.

* * *

In the meantime, Sabin had just finished up some shopping at the grocery store, and was headed back to his car when he got a call from Alex.

"Hey man, what's up?"

"_Hey, Sab, just waiting on April to get back. It's been hours since I've heard from her and I'm not gonna lie, I'm pretty nervous right about now."_

"Really? Where'd she tell you she was going to be?" Chris asked back.

"_Get this – Laurinitis set her and Del Rio up together for an autograph session."_

His eyes widened. "Are you _kidding _me?! After all the crap that he did to her, and they're alone together?"

"_Yeah! I was pissed about it too. She told me that it'd only be for two hours, but now it's been two and a HALF hours and I haven't heard a word from her or seen her! I KNEW I should've at least tried to go with them!"_

"Shells, just calm down for a sec. I know that Del Rio's dangerous, but he's not smart like AJ. She's resourceful, and if anything happens, I'm sure she'll save herself and give either you or me a call. Maybe there's traffic out there and they're late, so that's why you haven't seen her yet."

Alex sighed. _"Yeah, maybe you're right. But I'm only giving them a few more minutes and then I'm calling! So, what's up with you and Mickie?"_

"Well, I'm on my way home from the store now and I actually haven't heard from Mickie for a few hours, either. She said she was supposed to be visiting the girls, but she would've at least gave me a text or two. I hope everything's all right." Chris sighed.

"_Me too. Well, I—oh, I just got a text from April. I'll uh, talk to you a little later dude, k?"_

"Yup. Later." he replied, hanging up. Once he got in the car and drove off, though, he soon heard his phone going off again. "Ah, Alex, I'm in the middle of driving, you douche!" he muttered. Once he stopped at a red light, he saw that there was a text from…Dave. He grew concerned. "Batista? What the hell does he want?"

He then read the text that said:

"_Hey Sab. Didn't expect a text from me, now did ya? Look, let's cut to the chase here. Jericho's come to me crying about the fact that you and Mickie screwed him over when he caught you two in bed, and as his friend, I thought I'd do him a friendly favor by helping him get his revenge. Now, what revenge, you may ask? Well, I have the answer to that. See, I kidnapped both your ex-girlfriend and your current girlfriend and they're both getting comfy with me. Just wanted to tell you that if you don't get here right now, there's a good chance that you'll never see either of them again. Better hurry. ;)_

_-Dave"_

After reading the chilling message, Chris's eyes widened and he uttered, "No, no…Mickie, Jamie…aw, I'm gonna MURDER that son of a bitch!"

Where Alex was, he also got a text, and was happy to find that it was from AJ.

"Oh thank God. Baby, how are you?" he muttered, checking the text that read:

"_Alex, you gotta help me, Del Rio's taking me AWAY from the hotel and I think he's taking me out of town somewhere! I can't talk right now, but I think he's taking me to his summer home in-"_

Seeing that the message had ended so suddenly scared Shelley even more. "Oh, no. Hell no. I KNEW that bastard was up to no good! He better not have laid a finger on her or else I'm gonna kill him. Just hang on, April, I'll be right there…" he said in a rush, headed to his car.

* * *

Back at the hotel…

"What—What do you mean, you can't let me leave?" Mickie uttered to Dave.

The muscular Superstar replied by grabbing her arm and yanking her into the room.

"Ow, OW! Let me go, what the hell are you doing—" she froze once she saw a wide eyed Velvet looking back at her from the bed.

"Mickie?!" she mumbled.

"Velvet?!" Mickie cried back. Normally, she'd be glad to see her enemy tied up, but now, she was just plain confused. "Dave, what did you do to her?"

He slammed the door behind him. "What does it look like? I tied her up because she's a crucial part of my plan. And uh, so are you. That's why I was hoping to run into you. But either way, I was gonna track you down and bring you here myself."

"What do you WANT with us?!" the Diva exclaimed.

"Mickie, babe, it's a long story. But now that I've gotten you both, I can't keep you here." he replied.

"Don't 'babe' me! Now look, you know that you aren't getting away with this, right?"

"Oh yes, I will." he replied, taking out a gun as she stepped back and Velvet squirmed in fear. Mickie wasn't too afraid when Jericho had held her at gunpoint because she knew that he would never really hurt her. But Dave? He was another story. He continued, "I just gotta find a place to stash the two of you."

"But Sabin's eventually going to find that I'm missing and he's going to find us!" she cried.

"Oh, I just sent Sabin a text. He knows that I have the two of you, but the fun part is, he has no idea where." Dave smirked, thrusting the gun towards her. "Now stand next to the dumb blonde and let me think."

When she slowly inched herself in Velvet's way, she saw the blonde's pink phone on the floor and saw that Velvet was silently trying to tell her to grab it. Then, Mickie turned around and told Dave, "Hey, let's make a preposition here, I know you love those. How about—"

"How about I just get rid of the two of you? Yeah, Sabin's gonna be devastated to learn that he failed to rescue his two lady loves, and I just thought of a great place to take you." Dave began, approaching Mickie and then tying her hands back.

"Hey, hey, what are you DOING?!" she cried.

"WE, are going on a little field trip. All three of us." he said, proceeding to tie some cloth around her mouth, just like he did to Velvet.

"No, no, please, Dave, you can't do this, please…" she uttered, being gagged with the fabric. "Don't do this to us, it's not worth it…"

"SHUT UP!" Dave snapped, before he moved on to Velvet and untied her ankles. "Stand up and come on. The three of us are outta here."

The scared blonde sent a look Mickie's way before she was shoved out first, followed by Mickie, who sent Dave a scornful look. He smiled and told her, "Wow, you're so beautiful when you're terrified. Now COME ON!" he yelled, thrusting the gun at her before they all left.


	125. Chapter 125

**Chapter 125**

After learning the news that both Mickie and Velvet were being kept with Dave, Sabin rushed to the hotel that Mickie had said that she'd be visiting, in hopes that they'd both still be there. Even though he wasn't on good terms with Velvet, he still at least cared about her and couldn't bear to see her hurt…or worse. He finally arrived to the hotel and snuck around each hall, trying to find a sign of either of them. Then, the retired cop that Dave had chased away was headed down the hall, too.

"Uh, excuse me, sir, have you seen a brunette, about 5'3" tall, and a blonde about 5'5" tall? I know that they're supposed to be here, but I haven't found a trace of either one of them." Sabin asked desperately.

"I'm sorry, man, haven't seen anyone like that. The only person I've been dealing with today was this moron in room 514 who had the TV blasting. Tried to tell him to cut the noise down, but he tried to be tough and threatened me." he replied.

"Hmm." Chris paused. "What did this guy look like?"

"Uh, 6'4", muscular build, shaved head, had tattoos, not to mention that he had a bad attitude."

"Dave." he realized. "Thanks, man, gotta go."

He rushed down the hall until he found room 514, and was about to burst in until he heard footsteps rushing behind him.

"Sabin!" called an oh, too familiar voice.

He whipped around. "Jericho?"

"Are they in this room? C'mon, let's go in."

"Wait, wait! What the hell do you think that you're doing here?" Sabin demanded. "YOU'RE the reason that Mickie's in trouble! What, did you come here to see your little plan being carried out?"

"NO! No, Sabin, please hear me out. I've made a mistake. A huge mistake. Yes, I know that I came up with the plan, but I never even got to hear every detail of it. I just got a call from Johnny a little while ago, and he told me the new details. I never meant for things to get out of hand like this, I swear!" the Canadian exclaimed.

"And how the hell am I supposed to believe a word you're saying? This is coming from the guy who pulled a gun on us and threatened to kill us!" the Detroit native exclaimed.

He sighed. "It was a mistake to pull the gun on you two, all right? I was just—I was pissed, I was angry, so I wasn't thinking! But dude, even though we may be on opposite sides here, I still care about Mickie just as much as you do. I don't want to see her get hurt. What I did was a horrible mistake, man, and I want to make up for it. Please, let me help you save her and stop Dave, ok? Please."

Sabin glared at him, not ready to forgive him for what he did, but finally replied, "I really should kill you for starting this in the first place, but the main issue is that we get both Mickie and Velvet outta there in one piece."

He nodded. "I'm with you. Here, take this," he began, handing him one of his guns while holding out his other one. "We might need em."

"All right. Now they're probably still in the room, so we gotta stay quiet. Stand back and follow my lead." Sabin said, positioning himself by the door, and after a few moments, he swiftly kicked in the door with his gun pointed out. Once he and Jericho stormed into the room, they were shocked to find that it was empty. The two exchanged concerned looks before Sabin gestured for Jericho to search in the bathroom, while he cautiously checked the closet. Disappointed, he found no one.

"Damn it, they got away." he muttered.

"Nobody in here, either." Jericho said, joining him. "Aw man, I can't believe I let this happen."

"Yeah, well, you did. And if ANYTHING happens to my girlfriend because of you, I—" he began, before shaking it off. "I just don't want to think about it right now. So now we have to figure out where the hell he could've taken them."

Jericho walked around until he saw Velvet's empty purse on the floor. He picked up her phone. "Well, I know one thing. He took them somewhere where we won't be able to find them so easily." he announced, while Sabin was internally planning to murder Dave as soon as he saw him again.

* * *

Meanwhile, Dave had taken both Mickie and Velvet to an empty nightclub a few miles away from where they were first kidnapped, knowing that there was no way that anyone could find the girls. He now had the two tied up in two chairs, while tightening the cloth around Velvet's mouth to keep her quiet. He turned to a pissed off Mickie and kneeled down to meet her height, saying, "Wow. Hard to believe it had to end with the three of us sitting here together. I'm just sorry it had to happen this way. Y'know, Mickie, even though I've come off as a jerk to you sometimes, I really liked you. You're beautiful, spunky, smart…maybe just too smart for your own good."

"Bastard…" Mickie tried to mutter back, even though the cloth was still wrapped around her mouth.

"Hey, I'm not the bad one here! You and Sabin are the bad ones for hurting Jericho, a good friend of mine. But I guess we're not THAT good of friends since I plan on taking his WWE title soon. Plus, I'm not just doing this for him. I'm doing it for me, too. I can't stand Sabin, and I can't stand you for dumping me a few years back. At least this way, I can get rid of you both and do what Jericho couldn't do that day. Two birds, one stone, y'know?" he replied, smiling.

Mickie sighed and looked up at the ceiling, praying to the Gods above that Chris had known that she was missing and was on his way there to find her.

* * *

In the meantime, Alberto was still taking a terrified AJ out on a joyride across town…

"Alberto, just let me out of here, all right?" the Diva asked shakily. "I don't want to go anywhere with you!"

"Well, you have no choice in the matter, darling, because like I said, we're headed to my summer home to take care of some business, and then we're headed to the nearest airport to Mexico. At this rate, you'll never see Shelley or your precious little Guns ever again." he said with a smirk.

"Do you know that you can go to jail for kidnapping? The first stop that we make, I'll just phone the police and they'll be the first ones to arrest your sorry ass." AJ replied.

"Uh, did you forget that I am an aristocrat? I have an endless amount of money—eh, BAIL money to be exact, so I'm as free as a bird, as long as I'm concerned. April, darling, there is nothing that you could possibly do. You tried calling for help on your phone, but that didn't work, and there is just no getting out of this."

She glared at him and then looked at the doorknob. It was indeed a dangerous move, but with just the right timing, she could launch herself out of the car and make a run for it before he could catch her. AJ glanced at him again to make sure that his eyes were on the road, and then she slowly unlatched her seat belt. Then, she silently counted to three and had her hand on the doorknob, but before she could do anything else, she felt a hand roughly grab her hair from behind.

"Ow, ow, ow!" she winced, being forced to stare at the Mexican.

"So you would rather become road kill than to be with me?" he asked in a low voice.

"Yes, I would." she replied, straining to get out of his reach. "Let me go and keep your eyes on the road!"

Smirking at her, he decided to purposely swerve around the road, and once they nearly crashed head first into an oncoming tractor trailer, she screamed in terror.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!, STOP!"

Swerving back into the right lane, he laughed.

"Oh, so scaring me half to death is funny to you?" she asked bitterly.

"Ah, you are a fun one, April. But seriously, I do not suggest you pulling any more stunts like this. Now just buckle up and relax, darling, because we will be at our destination in just a few minutes." the Mexican said with a sick smile.

* * *

Out on the road, Alex was speeding through traffic, in an attempt to locate his girlfriend. Saying that he was a nervous wreck was an understatement.

"Come on, come on, MOVE OUTTA THE WAY, JACKASS!" he screamed out of the window. "Ok, where would he take her? Alex, you gotta think. She mentioned a summer home in her text. But that could be freaking anywhere." he told himself, swerving into another lane to speed past two cars. "If only I could use my phone to track her down, but that won't work…"

Once he sped past a red light and almost began a traffic collision, a cop car that was parked at a local Dunkin Donuts caught sight of this and began to follow him. Once they placed their sirens on and rode behind Alex, the Detroit native sighed loudly.

"Oh, are you f-ing kidding me?" he muttered. "Come on, not NOW!"

Then, he decided that he'd rather not spend a night in jail, so he soon pulled over, with the cop car following him. Alex rested his head over the steering wheel, when the officer knocked on his window. He rolled it down and asked, "What's the problem, officer?"

"Well, you were doing 85 in a 55 speed zone and you nearly caused a few accidents." he replied. "License and registration, please."

He sighed and handed him the information, before saying, "I'm sorry about this, sir, but I'm really in a hurry and it's important!"

"Important enough to endanger the lives of others?" he asked back.

"Sir, my girlfriend just got kidnapped by someone who's dangerous, and I'm losing her more and more by the second if I don't get back on the road!" Alex snapped.

"Look, your personal life is not my problem, but your attitude is beginning to be! Step out of the car." the cop said.

Alex stared at him in disbelief. "WHAT?!"

"You heard me, now step out of the damn car!" he snapped, opening the door and pulling him out.

"Sir, you cannot do this, please! I have to go out there and look for my girlfriend before she gets hurt!" he cried.

"Well, why don't you explain it to the others when you arrive at the big house." the crooked cop replied, placing his hands back and handcuffing him, while Alex looked back in total disbelief.

"You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law…" he began. Shelley, on the other hand, was mentally cursing himself and Del Rio for everything that was going on, and he felt that he was failing AJ more and more by the second. If anything had happened to her, it'd be all his fault. At least, that's what he was thinking.

* * *

Back at the hotel…

"I can't believe Dave would go as far as to kidnap two women and expect to get away with it!" Jericho exclaimed, inspecting the room for any more evidence.

"Well, you should know more about him than I do, you've known him longer." Sabin replied. "All I know about him is that he's been nothing but scum since the day that I met him, and I hate him even more after what he's put Mickie through. Spreading rumors about her and ruining her reputation…guy makes me sick. Mickie's such an awesome person and she deserves so much better than what she's been put through. But she's been so strong through everything and I love that about her."

Jericho looked towards him and felt even more jealous and realized the fact that he himself had a zero chance of ever getting back with her again. "I guess you two really do belong together. When I was with her, I know that she was trying to hide this from me, but…the whole entire time, I knew that she was thinking about you. I tried to make her forget, but nothing I ever did worked. You're the winner, Sabin, and I'll…try to be happy for you guys."

He looked back at him and sent him a nod, before saying, "I understand. It hurts, but I'm sure you'll be able to work things out with your wife."

"I hope. If she'll ever want to take me back, that is." the Canadian replied.

"Ok, ok, look, we gotta focus. Now, there has to be some trace of evidence here to lead us to wherever Dave took the girls." Sabin said, looking through Velvet's purse.

Jericho looked around as well, but then found a little matchbook on the floor. "Hey, check this out."

Chris joined him and read what was said on the matchbook. "'Club Z.'"

"Well, this thing definitely doesn't belong to Mickie because she doesn't smoke. Does Velvet?" asked Jericho.

"Nope. So this has to belong to Dave and…that's where he probably took them! Yeah, so all we have to do is find this Club Z place and we can surprise him then and there."

"I'm tracking the location down on my phone now. Let's hop in the car and swing by there before it's too late, c'mon!" the Canadian exclaimed, as they sped out of the room.

* * *

Later that day, back at Club Z…

"MMMM!" Velvet mumbled.

"What?" Dave questioned, approaching her and ripping off her mouthpiece.

"...You are so not getting away with this." she muttered.

"For once, I agree with her." Mickie mumbled back. "Capturing two innocent women for absolutely no reason whatsoever? You know that you're headed to jail for this either way, right?"

"I'M not going anywhere, I told you! Because nobody knows that we're here except for us." he replied.

"Dave, this is pointless, just let her go!" Mickie said, while Velvet was surprised that her enemy was defending her. "Velvet has nothing to do with this, just…just take me, all right? I'm the one you want."

"Mickie—" the blonde began.

"Aww, are you sacrificing yourself for the dumb blonde?" Batista asked mockingly, moving on to remove her mouthpiece. "So sweet, it makes me sick. Look, blondie's a part of Sabin's past, and if I hurt her, he's hurt, too. So I need her. But ladies, what I DON'T understand is this – why would you two go through all this trouble over him when you could be fighting over someone like me instead? Sabin has two chicks and I have NONE? Man, what the hell has this world come to?" he questioned.

"How about the fact that no girl wants to go out with a disrespectful sleazebag like you?" Velvet asked back. "And after all that you've done to everyone lately, you deserve a bullet between the eyes, you creep!"

Not saying much after this, the muscular Superstar whipped out his gun and aimed it at the Knockout. "OR, I could do the same to you."

She stiffened up and stared through the Superstar's cold eyes.

"Thought so." he replied, before moving on to Mickie. "And how about you? You sitting there, praying that your precious Sabin will show up to rescue you? Well, beautiful, it ain't gonna happen. Besides, if he does show up, I'll just finish him off myself."

"You leave him the HELL alone!" the Country Diva snapped. "He IS gonna find us here, and he's gonna kick your ass!"

Dave laughed. "Are you joking?"

"Do I LOOK like I'm joking? Chris is more of a man than you will ever be. He's gonna finish you off."

"Mickie's right, he's gonna find us here and he's damn well gonna stop you before you do something that you won't be able to take back!" Velvet agreed.

"Do something that I won't be able to take back? Like kill you BOTH?!" he snapped, clicking the gun and thrusting it towards them while they stiffened in fear. "Now tell me why the hell I shouldn't shoot the two of you right this second!"

"Dave, Dave, come on, you don't want to do this, this is Jericho's issue, you have nothing to do with this! In fact, you could get out of jail easily if you tell them, uh, you didn't know what you were doing, you were only following orders from somebody else and—and-" Velvet uttered.

"Not CONVINCING…" Dave called over her.

"Dave, just face it, if you hurt the two of us, you're going to have one hell of a lot of people going after your ass, like Chris, Alex, Punk…" began Mickie.

"Nearly EVERYONE I know from TNA!" chimed in Velvet. "There's no way you're getting away with this!"

"Just RUN! Run away from here and no police will know that you did this!" Mickie exclaimed.

"I CAN'T! I can't just leave you two here!" he argued.

"Well, are you really going to just ruin the rest of your life by shooting us?!" Velvet cried.

Little did any of them know, both Sabin and Jericho had arrived to the club and were sneakily watching the scene unfold from the doorway.

"I don't have a choice in the matter." Dave replied. "Besides, these are Johnny's orders. And if I carry them out, I get a guaranteed shot at the WWE title."

"So some TITLE shot is more important than our lives?!" Mickie demanded. "Get your head together, Dave, you are not thinking clearly."

"I KNOW that I'm not and I don't care anymore!" he snapped.

From the doorway, Jericho was about to head inside when Sabin quickly stopped him. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" he whispered.

"What do you think? I'm going out there to stop Dave before he does something stupid!" Jericho replied.

"We can't just barge in there or else he'll get scared and begin shooting at everything and everyone. Before we head in there, we need a surefire plan." he said surely.


	126. Chapter 126

**Chapter 126**

After being arrested earlier, Alex was now miserably sitting in a jail cell at the local prison, desperately thinking of a way that he could get outta there and back on the road to save AJ. He lied across the bench and was partly glad that he had the cell to himself, because he seriously didn't want to speak to anyone at that moment, and instead stared up at the cold, plain, unforgiving ceiling. He also felt that he should just take a nap, and hoped that when he woke up, this whole ordeal would be a nightmare and he'd be back at home with AJ by his side. Right after that, he soon took out his phone and looked at his wallpaper of AJ smiling and posing two thumbs' up, and smiled a little himself. God, he absolutely adored her smile. Hell, he adored everything about her. Alex had also remembered that he was still carrying the ring that AJ's mother had given him, and began to think…even though he wasn't the marrying type, he'd sure love to marry her. Twice.

"Oh God, April, I gotta get outta here. If Del Rio does anything horrible to you, it'll be all my fault. And I doubt you'd ever be able to forgive me." he said to himself.

Suddenly, a woman's voice shook him out of his thoughts.

"Alex? Alex Shelley?"

He sat up to find a pretty woman in a police uniform, with short copper-colored hair and gasped. "Maxie?"

"Alex, how did you end up in here?" she asked, but her expression grew serious. "Then again, maybe you deserve to be in here after the way you broke my heart."

He sighed.

* * *

Meanwhile, Dave was still holding Mickie and Velvet hostage at the abandoned nightclub, while Sabin and Jericho were planning on what to do to save them. After coming up with a solid plan, Jericho had maneuvered himself someplace else, while Sabin stayed positioned at the back doorway.

"This can't go on forever, Dave, sooner or later you're gonna have to do something with the two of us." Velvet announced. "I'm telling you, we're trying to help you by getting you out of here! Nobody else will know about us, why can't you just go?"

"I already told you that I can't just leave you two here! I have a job to do, and I can't leave until this job is carried out! Now blondie, why don't you just shut the hell up because you're the cause of all this! In fact, all this is BOTH your faults, but Velvet, since you were the one who decided to leave TNA for a while and join us here at the Big 'E, I may as well shoot you first!"

Before he could, she screamed, "NO! No, please, why do you have to do this to me, I only came to spend time with my friends, that's it! My being here had absolutely nothing to do with you, so why are you targeting ME?"

"Because you're Sabin's little toy and I can't stand Sabin. Once I eliminate you, he'll be devastated, and that's exactly the revenge that Jericho wants!" Dave exclaimed, but before he could shoot, Jericho himself stood at the front doorway, with his gun pointed towards the muscular Superstar. Dave looked on in absolute shock, as did Velvet and Mickie.

"Screw revenge, you let these two go right now." the Canadian said darkly.

* * *

In jail…

"Maxie, look, what happened between us was years ago, can we just move on from this?" Alex pleaded, clinging onto the bars.

"No, I can't, Alex! You were the first boyfriend I ever had back in high school and the way you dumped me to be with my sister was…it was the worst thing that anyone had ever done to me!" she exclaimed, hurt.

"I tried to let you down easy!"

"Yeah, me and all of the other girls' hearts that you've broken in the past." she said bitterly. "So how are you now? Still being a womanizer?"

"No, Maxie, for your information, I'm in a wonderful relationship with my girlfriend April. I've changed from high school, Max, I'm committed to her because she's…she's different. She's everything I ever dreamed in a woman. She's smart, funny, beautiful, athletic, a total geek, the whole package." he explained. "And now I just may lose her for good because my crazy co-worker took her out for a never ending joyride out of town, and instead of being out there to find her, where am I? Behind…freaking…BARS!" he screamed, turning around to blow off some steam.

His ex-girlfriend looked at him, concerned. "Wow, you really love this girl, don't you?"

He was still facing away from her. "More than anything."

"Ok, ok, Alex, just think for a moment. How'd you get arrested in the first place?" asked Maxie.

"I was out there searching for her, but the cops pulled me over for speeding and since I was simply pissed off, your crooked little cohorts mistook that for an attitude and they took me in for that. Maxie, I cannot stay locked in here, I am begging you! You have to get me out of here."

"Alex, you know that I'm not allowed to just release people on their own free will!"

"Just do this for me once, that's it! If I don't stop this guy and save my girlfriend, it'll be too late and I'll never forgive myself if anything happens to her." he pleaded. "Please Max, I'm sorry that I ever hurt you, but this is important for me. You have to help me."

The officer sighed and nodded. "Ok, I'll help you in any way that I can. First, who kidnapped her? I can try to get a lead on him."

"Alberto Del Rio. I got a text from April saying that he was taking her to his summer home, and was then planning on taking her out of town." he replied.

"Alberto? I—I know him!"

"You do?"

"Yeah, he and I actually dated for a short time before I broke up with him. I know that he has a summer home in the next town, and I remember that he gave me the address. Let me see if I still have it…" she began, looking through her things. "Aha!"

"Oh good, where is it?" Alex asked.

"361 Rodeo Drive. The house is pretty huge, so you won't miss it." she replied.

"Awesome. So are you sure that he still owns this same house now?"

"Yeah, he rarely ever moves."

"Ok, this just may be all I need to find them. I just hope that it hasn't been too late." Shelley replied.

"Ok, hold on a sec." Maxie said, cautiously looking around to make sure that there weren't any other cops around, before unlocking his cell. "You're free to go, but this is your ONLY free ticket. Don't get yourself arrested again, you hear me?"

He nodded and gave her a quick hug. "Thank you so much, Max, I will be forever grateful to you for this." he said before rushing off.

"Good luck!" she called.

* * *

At the club…

"Jericho? I—I know that you're NOT pointing that gun at me. I think your aim is a little off, you're supposed to be aiming for the girls." Dave announced.

"I am aiming for you. Dave, I know that I first agreed to this plan, but I had no idea that it would get this out of hand until Johnny told me everything himself. Neither of them did anything, so why don't you just let them go." he replied, his finger on the trigger.

"I cannot believe you, you traitor! I went out and did all this for YOU! You were the one who came crying to me about how Sabin and Mickie betrayed you and now you're backing out of your own plan?" he demanded. "Jeez, at least I know that I have a bigger pair of balls than you have, considering the fact that you were too afraid to shoot anyone that day, while me, well, I have no problem shooting, Mickie, Velvet here…or even you."

Velvet looked at the showdown, anticipating what was to come next, while Mickie was still shocked that Jericho had come to their rescue. Then, she began to wonder where her boyfriend was, and when she turned around, she just happened to see him hiding by the back doorway. The Diva smiled in relief.

He silently mouthed towards her, "Are you ok, baby?"

She replied with a nod, before focusing on the next task at hand – trying to free herself and Velvet.

"Velvet, Mickie, you two all right?" Jericho called.

"Yeah—we're fine."

"SHUT UP!" Dave snapped at them, while still holding the gun towards Jericho. "And as for you, you need to put that gun down."

"Chris, please, you have to do something before he—" began Velvet.

"I thought I told you to shut up." Batista replied. "Jericho, I told you once, and I'll tell you again. You put the gun down or else…" he moved on to Mickie, pulled her hair, and held the gun towards her neck. Where he was standing, Sabin growled and was ready to shoot Dave at that moment. Jericho, in the meantime, frowned and his main concern was for the Diva. "…the slut goes first." Dave finished with a sadistic smirk.

Jericho sighed and placed down his gun.

"Good, now kick it over here."

He kicked the gun away and raised his arms in defense. "All right, Dave, you got what you wanted. I'm unarmed, and I want to make an easy deal with you. You do whatever you want to with me, and you let the girls go. How's that sound?" the Candian asked.

Dave shook his head and pointed the gun back at him. "Not good enough, Y2J."

"So what the hell are you going to do, shoot three people in cold blood?" he demanded.

He looked back at the terrified girls and back at him. "If that's what it takes."

* * *

Meanwhile, Alberto and AJ had finally arrived to his summer home, which was really more of a mansion than a house.

"So, you like the place? Whenever I'm in the arena, this is where I spend those long, summer days." he announced, stepping out of the car.

She glared at him and refused to say a word. Once she stepped out, though, she looked around and used this as her golden chance to run away.

"HEY!" he snapped, wrapping her arms around her waist and covering a hand across her mouth to muffle her screams.

"MMMMMMM!" she cried, kicking away.

"You think that you can just get away from me that easily, little girl?" he whispered into her ear, making her shudder in fear. "Oh, ho ho, we have gone too far for you to run away now. We're stopping here to take care of a little business, and once we do, you are going to enjoy every second of it. Now GET INSIDE!" he snapped, shoving her into the spacious house.

The tiny Diva yelped as she stumbled onto the marble floor, and looked in awe at the elegance of the house. There must've been at least 10 rooms in there. Ten rooms to hide herself from. While he was locking the door, he said, "Now, I have to call a couple of my guards, you just settle—"

He froze, looking up to find her speeding upstairs and rushing into any room that she could find. As a reply, he chuckled. "Oh, you want to play games, huh, April? I will be more than happy to play." he replied, heading upstairs to find her.

* * *

Back at the club, things were getting worse by the second…

"Why are you so eager to go along with all this?" Jericho asked. "People's LIVES are on the line and you treat this as if this were some kind of sick game! Don't you even care?"

"No, Jericho, I don't care! I don't care about them, and I most certainly don't care about you! Especially after now. We were supposed to be on the same side, dude. Johnny went over this plan with the both of us, and with you wimping out at the last minute and leaving me high and dry…I should just shoot you right here and now." Dave said, while in the meantime, Mickie was busy untying her wrists.

"Go ahead. But whatever happens to me, just know that you'll be shipped off to jail and you will never get your hands on my WWE title again. I know how badly you wanted it." Jericho replied.

"I deserve that title and you know it! Johnny was going to hand it over to me, but you just had to grab his attention first. I'm a forced to be reckoned with, I want to be the face of this company, not a little shrimp like you!" he snapped.

"Oh yeah, well this little shrimp will beat your ass every day of the week and I'll STILL be carrying my title, so keep dreaming, big boy. Now this isn't about you, me, or the title, this is about letting those girls go. Mickie was involved with ME, Velvet's heart was broken by somebody else, and you have absolutely nothing to do with any of this." the Canadian said surely.

In the meantime, Mickie was busy untying Velvet's wrists, and once she got her enemy freed, Dave caught sight of this and called, "I HAVE EVERYTHING TO DO WITH THIS!" before whipping around and firing his gun towards the girls.

"AAH!" someone screamed.

* * *

Back at Del Rio's mansion, AJ had finally found herself a good hiding place in one of the walk-in closets, hiding herself behind a door. At that moment, thoughts were racing through her head with the main one being if Alex was even on his way to save her. "Oh Shells, where are you?" she whispered. "You gotta get me the hell outta here."

"Your so-called boyfriend will not come to save you, I'm afraid." Del Rio replied, bursting into the room, and scaring her. "Oh, did I startle you?"

"You're not scary." she said defiantly. "And for my first order of business, I'm getting the hell outta here and away from YOU!" she cried, trying to get past him when he stopped her by forcefully slamming her against the wall.

"You think I am a fool, girlie? There is no way that you could escape. And I expect for you to make yourself comfortable here because you will be here for a very…long…time. And Alex cannot stop us." he whispered before doing the unimaginable and planting a rough kiss upon the Diva's lips, while her eyes widened in terror and she tried to push him off of her.


	127. Chapter 127

**Chapter 127**

At the club, Velvet had realized that she'd been grazed with the bullet that Dave had fired across her arm, but overall she'd be fine. After the shot was fired, though, Chris Sabin sped out from where he was hiding and fired his gun back, yelling, "GET DOWN!"

Jericho rushed to the girls and helped them duck to avoid getting caught in the crossfire, while a baffled Dave ran behind a bartender's stand and fired again and again towards Sabin. "Where did you come from, Sabin?!" he yelled back, firing.

Chris hid himself behind a few tables, and managed to quickly dodge his enemy's shots. "You lay a hand on my girlfriend again, I oughta SHOOT you right now!" he yelled back, firing again. "Jericho, get them outta here!"

"C'mon, girls, let's go."

"We have to take Velvet to a hospital." Mickie muttered.

"No, I'm fine, don't worry about me." she replied.

Sabin fired a few more times and called, "You're wasting your time, Dave, it's over now! Just give it up while you still can!"

"I won't stop until I finally finish you off!" Dave yelled back across the room, firing back.

Sabin turned to find Jericho and the girls near the door, and whispered, "Dude, now, now!"

He nodded back and tried to lead them both out, but Mickie stumbled and fell to her knees, realizing that it was too late for her to leave.

"Mickie!" Jericho called back.

"Chris can take care of her, c'mon!" Velvet called from the doorway.

"No, I'm not leaving without her!"

"Mickie." Sabin whispered, firing again towards Dave before rushing to save her. Before he could, though, Dave fired again and cried, "Haha, Sab, I got your GIRLFRIEND!"

"No, no, no, no, NO!" Mickie cried quickly when the muscular Superstar wrapped one arm around her neck and held the gun towards her. Sabin's features hardened and he aimed his gun back at Dave. Inside, he was terrified that Mickie would get hurt or even worse, but he knew that he had to stay strong in order to save her. "Dave, this is your last warning. Put the gun down, now." he uttered slowly.

* * *

Meanwhile, Alex had done one hell of a lot of driving into the next town, and was even more thankful to his ex-girlfriend for giving him the directions to Del Rio's summer mansion. He had finally found the place and burst in the front door, immediately looking around the spacious place to see where AJ was. "AJ! APRIL! You here, baby? It's Alex!" he called, but stopped once two muscular guards, about 6'4" approached him. Del Rio then arrived downstairs and smiled upon seeing his enemy. "Ah, Shelley! So nice of you to come! Well, honestly, I thought that you'd never even make it here, and I don't know how in the hell you did, but either way, I welcome you."

"Well, you made your first mistake by leaving the front door unlocked, you douchebag." Alex said sarcastically. "Now why don't you cut the crap and tell me where April is so that I can find her? No, you know what, I'll just find her myself."

Before he could run off, Del Rio called, "HOLD HIM!"

The guards restrained Shelley while he struggled to break free. "Aw, man, you're really pissing me off now. You know, as soon as April and I get outta here, we're going to watch you get taken to prison and you know what we're gonna do? We're gonna laugh! We are going to laugh at the fact that you'll never make it out of prison on the charges of kidnapping, hiding someone away against their will, probably assault, harassment, so you'll be out of our hair for a mighty long time." he said.

"So you say, Shelley. But I will not be the one going to jail because you're not telling any cops."

"What makes you so sure?"

"Because you can't tell anybody anything if I get rid of you. That's right, my friend, I will personally kill you. And I'll kill you so that nobody will ever find you. And then your pretty little girlfriend April will officially belong to me." he smirked, once Alex's features hardened.

"You can't get rid of me that easily." he uttered.

"Oh, I won't kill you right away. First, I'll let you stick around for my review. You know, the review of how it felt when I…screwed your girlfriend—"

"HEY, you keep your fucking hands off of her, you sick son of a bitch!" Alex screamed, trying to attack him. "You lay a HAIR on her and I'll kill you!"

Del Rio laughed. "Hey, she's going to sleep with me either way. And don't be selfish, man. You got to have the pleasure of screwing her, so now it is my turn." he smirked, strolling upstairs.

"No, NO!" Shelley screamed, still being restrained by the guards. "LEAVE HER ALONE!"

* * *

Back at the club, Sabin and Batista were in the middle of their standoff.

"Dave, I swear to God, if you hurt Mickie, I will murder you. Twice." Chris said through clenched teeth.

"Am I really supposed to be afraid of you, dude? Besides, if I shoot your little whore here, I'll be doing you a favor." Dave replied, angering Chris even more. "I'll spare you the pain of seeing her cheat on you in the near future!"

"I'd never cheat on Chris and you know it, you BASTARD!" Mickie cried.

"SHUT UP, bitch!" Dave snapped, thrusting the gun into her.

"Don't _TALK _to her that way!" Chris snapped.

"Don't test me, Sabin, don't test me. Or I WILL shoot her right in front of your eyes." he replied, jamming the gun into her side.

"Ow, ow, oh God, Chris, please…" the Diva pleaded, tears in her eyes.

"Ok, now what I'm gonna do is back away from here slowly, and you're not going to follow me." Dave began, heading off with Mickie.

"Hey, you're not going any-damn-where without letting go of Mickie first." Sabin replied.

"You think I want her anymore? She's been nothing but dead weight, anyway." he smirked. "Why shouldn't I just kill her right now?"

"I—I feel sick." Mickie uttered.

"LET HER GO!" Chris screamed.

"Gotta catch me first!" Dave exclaimed, and when Mickie suddenly 'fell' to the ground, Chris took the opportunity to shoot Dave in the leg, taking him down to the ground.

"AH!" he cried. "Son of a BITCH!"

Mickie got up and took the opportunity to grab his gun, and when Dave tried to get back up, Chris forcefully whacked him over the head with his gun, knocking him out and ending the standoff. He couldn't actually shoot and kill the guy though, or else he may be headed to jail. Hopefully the blow was enough to keep Dave out for a while.

The room was silent for a few moments as the two tried to gain their composure once again, and Mickie asked, "Is—Is he out?"

Chris kicked him. "Yeah, he's out cold. All we gotta do is leave him here for the cops to pick up. You ok?" he asked her.

She placed Dave's gun on the table and nodded. "Yeah, thanks to you. Nice shootin', Tex." she smiled.

He nodded. "I couldn't have shot him in the leg without that fainting spell that you faked. Great work, you should consider being an actress." he smiled back.

"Oh, no no, I—I just want to be a singer and a wrestler. And your girlfriend." she said, hugging herself.

"Hey, you sure you're all right?" he asked again.

This time, she felt the tears streaming down her face. "Chris, if you weren't there, he…he would've killed me…" she sobbed, burying herself into his chest while he tightly hugged her back.

"Oh, baby, it's ok. What matters is that you're all right. That's all that counts. Everything's over, Sweet Mickie, I love you." he replied, kissing the top of her head.

"I love you, too." she said, muffled.

While the lovers were in an embrace, Jericho had returned from sending Velvet over to the ambulance waiting outside and came back upon seeing his enemy holding the woman that he loved. And no lie, he was upset that _he _wasn't the one consoling Mickie.

* * *

At Del Rio's house, Alex was shoved into a chair with his wrists tied back with duct tape, with the two guards hovering over him.

Shelley looked up at the two and chuckled bitterly, saying, "Wow, so I wonder if Del Rio even pays you two enough for stuff like this. He seems like the guy who'd be settling on giving clowns like you minimum wage."

"Joke about Alberto all you want, you won't be saying anything else once he disposes of you in the woods somewhere." one of them replied. "Of course, he'll be busy screwing your girl first."

That pissed him off once again. "APRIL!" he screamed, but was silenced with a rough backhand slap to the face.

"And there's nothing that you could do about it." he finished, chuckling.

Upstairs, AJ had escaped the closet, and ran into another bedroom trying to at least escape from the window. It was a long way down, but she'd surely take the risk.

"Ugh…come on, open, please…" she groaned, trying to pull up the heavy window.

"Not going to work, sweetie." Del Rio said, startling her.

She whipped around. "I—I can't do this with you. I don't want to." she uttered. "Please, just let me go."

"And just how would you make it back all the way to your hotel?" he asked, approaching her while she backed away.

"I'll—I'll walk if I have to, just please don't touch me!" she cried slowly.

"Why? Are you nervous, honey? Because I don't think you should be. In fact, while you please me, I think that you'll find this to be a very…enjoyable experience." he said in a low voice.

"You're disgusting." she said, shuddering and turning back.

"April, why do you keep looking back towards that closet? Do you expect someone to leap out and save you?"

She crossed her arms.

He eyed her down and peeked into the closet, seeing nobody there. Then, he broke into a grin. "Ah, April, just face the truth. Nobody, and I mean _nobody _is going to come up here and save you."

Little did AJ know, Alex was downstairs, but he was knocked unconscious in the same chair that the guards had thrown him in, with duct tape over his mouth. He clearly had no idea what Del Rio was doing to his girlfriend upstairs.

Meanwhile…

AJ had tried once again to escape the room, but Del Rio beat her to the punch, slammed the door, and pinned her against it, breathing heavily. "You know, April, I'm trying to make this as painless as possible, and you are not making this easy for me. You and I were supposed to get married in the ring a few months ago, but that boyfriend of yours had to ruin it. At this point, we were supposed to be husband and wife."

She turned her head so that she wouldn't have to look at him. "I'm glad that Alex ruined the wedding because I'd rather die than be married to you. I want Alex to be my husband one day." she replied shakily.

"Well, that's not going to happen because once I dispose of him, you'll never see him again."

A chill ran up her spine. "You—You leave him the hell alone. He's better than you anyway, he kicked your ass, especially at the infamous Summerslam match you guys had. Had fun being lifted 20 ft in the air on a forklift while everyone was laughing at you, huh?" she asked, trying to regain her confidence again.

That ended once he slammed her against the door. "Don't piss me off, little girl. Do NOT piss me off."

Downstairs, Alex was still knocked out until one of the guards approached him and kicked his leg. "Wake up." Then, he ripped off the duct tape across his mouth, and a somewhat disorientated Alex stirred awake.

"Oy, vey." he muttered. "Oh, so did you wake me up because you realized that what you did is wrong, and you'll eventually be arrested for assaulting me and being an accessory to a crime? Yeah, I know I'm no cop, but I know damn well that you're already in a world of trouble, along with your fearless leader Del Rio. Now, you don't want to go to jail, do you?"

The guard just looked at him.

"Now look, since you didn't do much, I won't turn you in to the cops if you untie me. That monster up there is terrorizing my girlfriend as we speak, and if you let me go and save her, I promise that I'll let you slide. What do you say?" Shelley asked, hoping that his persuasive skills would work this time.

Upstairs, AJ tried once again to make a break for it and headed for the window, when Del Rio pinned her against the door and forcefully wrapped her legs around his waist, while he tried to carry her to the bed.

"NO, NO, NO!" she screamed, trying to fight him off when they landed on a chair, him on top of her. She kicked him away and tried to crawl out, but he growled and lifted her up by the waist, standing her up again and holding her in a headlocked position.

"April, I do admire your feistiness, but you can't keep on wasting your energy trying to escape me." he told her.

"Please leave me alone, you have no idea how much trouble you're asking for." she whimpered.

"Anything that I do to you, you brought upon yourself. I tried to make things easy for you, but you are the one who is being so _difficult!_" he exclaimed, tightening his grip on her while she tried to squirm away. "Hey, 'EY! I am really running out of patience with you." Del Rio said threateningly.

Downstairs…

"All right, man. Yeah, you may have sent a few punches across my handsome face a few times, but aside from that, I don't have a problem with you and I'll let that slide." Alex told the guard. "But your boss, Alberto, I have to stop him before he gets himself in a world of trouble."

"But he will kill me." he replied.

"Del Rio's not going to give a damn about you once he's in prison trying to avoid the other inmates!" Shelley cried. "Look, it's gonna be the Shawshank Redemption, part two starring Del Rio once he's locked up, trying to avoid being raped himself by the other guys, and that's exactly what he's up there doing to my girlfriend at this moment. Now while your boss is getting 20 years to life in prison, you will be let off the hook, I promise you. But that's only if you untie my wrists. After that, you're free to go and nobody can stop you."

The guard looked at him with a thoughtful expression. Then again, this was the only choice that he had.

Back upstairs, Del Rio whipped out a knife and placed it against AJ's neck, while she whimpered more loudly and began crying.

"Oh God, no…" she whispered.

Alberto chuckled. "So this is what it's come to between us, April? Now I have to force you by knifepoint to sleep with me? Well, fine by me, I actually find this quite thrilling! Now listen to me and listen good. We can either do this nicely, or we can do this rough. And trust me, you look like the kind of girl who likes it rough." he smirked, while she was pleading for Alex to get there immediately.


	128. Chapter 128

**Chapter 128**

At the club, Dave was still knocked out while Sabin was trying to calm down a jilted Mickie. Jericho sighed and then joined them.

"Ok, the cops are on their way here and Dave should be headed to jail in no time." he announced as the two looked up at him.

"He deserves worse than jail." Sabin replied.

"Yeah, I know. Well, I'm uh, gonna go now and get rid of these guns that I brought. Maybe I'll toss em in the river somewhere." the Canadian said slowly, before looking back at the happy couple. As he trudged away, Mickie looked back at him and called, "Jericho, wait!"

He turned back.

The Country Diva approached him and wrapped her arms around him in a hug, and although he was pleasantly surprised, he hugged her back. "What was that for?"

"For saving us. I didn't expect you to come here and…do what you did. I know you were mad and it took a lot for you to stand up to Dave even after Sab and I hurt you. So what I'm trying to say is thank you." she said with a small smile.

He nodded. "I'll always care about you, Mickie, and even if we can't be together, can we at least remain friends?"

She nodded back. "No matter what, we'll always be friends, Y2J."

"Glad to hear it." he smiled.

Sabin approached them next. "Jericho, look. I know that we'll probably always look at each other as enemies of some sort, but I really appreciate what you did for me today. You could've betrayed me and even killed me, but you helped lead us here to save the girls. You kept your word, man, and I just have to thank you, too."

The Canadian nodded. "I'll always be jealous that you have Mickie, but all I gotta say is that you better be good to her or else you'll be hearing from me again." he replied with a smirk, shaking his hand. "But once we're back to work, we're back to being competitors, remember that."

"Oh, I haven't forgotten. Now let's stop by the hospital to see how Velvet's doing. That ok with you, babe?" Sabin asked.

She nodded. "Eh, sure, sure. Even though I can't stand her, I didn't want her to get hurt, so let's go and see her."

* * *

Back at Alberto's mansion, he was about to do the unthinkable with AJ. With the lights turned low, he forced her onto the bed and hovered over her, placing the knife against her throat again.

She began crying again and whimpered, "Please, please get off of me…"

"First, you have to be nice." he said gruffly.

"Get off me, you sick bastard." she replied.

He placed the blade of the knife deeper into her skin while she yelped a little, feeling a little sting on her neck.

He moved closer to her, whispering, "Next time, it'll be your pretty little face. And it won't just be a cut."

Before he moved on to kiss her, the door suddenly flew open, followed by Alex bursting into the room, pulling Del Rio off of her, and tossing him to the floor. He let out a scream when he forcefully kicked him a few times and sent a few rough punches across his face. AJ leapt up and wrapped one hand around her neck, both shocked and relieved that Alex had come to rescue her. Alberto had gotten back to his feet and got the upper hand on Alex by ramming him against a wall and kneeing him in the abdomen a few times, knocking the wind out of him.

"Alex!" AJ cried, grabbing the nearest weapon that she could find, a vase, and forcefully whacking it across Del Rio's back.

"AH!" he cried in pain. Before he could catch her, AJ tossed the vase towards Alex, who caught it and then cracked it over the Mexican's skull, knocking him out. Once the action was over, he snatched the knife, grabbed Del Rio by the collar, and held it towards him. "Surprised to see me again, bitch? I'm gonna kill you. I am going to KILL YOU!" he shouted.

"No, no, don't!" Del Rio pleaded.

"Why in the hell should I even consider sparing your pathetic life?" he asked.

"Alex, listen to me," AJ spoke up. "I don't want you to go to jail over him, all right? Just let the cops take care of him."

He couldn't take his eyes off of his enemy, but then replied, "Fine. But I'm only doing this for you. Now listen up, 'Berto. First thing you're gonna do is admit that you're a sick freak, and the next thing that you're gonna do is admit that you never laid a finger on her, and you're gonna apologize to April. Got it?" Shelley demanded.

"I—I'm sorry, April…" Del Rio uttered.

"HEY, I didn't hear the part about you being a sick freak, I want to hear it!" he cried.

"I—I'm a sick freak, I'm a SICK FREAK! And I-I didn't mean to touch you!" he exclaimed, defenseless.

Alex was still trying to calm himself down. "All right. Get up. Now!"

He slowly got himself up, holding the back of his head when Shelley lured him downstairs with the knife still in hand. "Hey, don't look at me, look ahead, you sorry bastard! The cops are gonna be here any minute for your ass!" he called from a distance, while AJ was left feeling a whole range of emotions from fear, to anger, and to relief. The Diva sniffled and wiped away a few tears.

* * *

A little later, Jericho, Sabin, and Mickie had all arrived to the hospital to visit Velvet.

The blonde had a bandage wrapped around her arm, but was surprised to see the three of them there.

"Uh hey, what are you guys doing here?" she asked.

"We just came to check up on you. How's your arm feeling?" asked Sabin.

She shrugged. "Stings a little, but it could've been a lot worse. Hey listen, what happened to Dave?"

"The cops took him away to jail, so we don't have to worry about him anymore." he replied. "Hey, you sure you're all right?"

The Knockout mustered a smile. "I will be. I'll need a little time to heal both physically and mentally, but I'll be all right. Thanks for asking, Chris."

He nodded. "Even though we're broken up, Vel, doesn't mean that I don't still care about you. I'm just glad that you're ok."

"Yeah, so am I. I know we haven't looked eye-to-eye on things, Velvet, but I never meant for you to be involved in any of this. I'm so sorry for everything." Jericho said.

"I really should be pissed at you right now, but you helped to save our lives, so I really oughta thank you." the blonde replied, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Who knows what could have happened if you or Sab hadn't come."

"No sweat. Look, I'll see you guys later, I got some stuff to take care of, ok?" the Canadian said, heading off.

"Bye, Chris!—Later!" they called.

"So uh, Mickie, why don't I leave you and Velvet here to chat? I'll be here in the waiting room, and I don't want to come back in here breaking up two screaming chicks. So play nice." Sabin replied with a smirk, backing away.

The girls chuckled, before turning back to one another.

"So…Mickie."

"Velvet."

Silence.

"Look, let's just cut the crap and get to the chase. It's driving me crazy seeing you with him!" she cried sadly.

"Velvet, I don't want to get into this right now, I'm trying to be nice here!"

"No, I don't want to start anything, either. I'm just…I miss him, Mickie, I want him back." she said tearfully.

"Well, that's exactly how I felt when you had him. But things just happen and…you just gotta go where fate tells you to go." the Country Diva replied.

"Like how fate's saying how you and Chris belong together?"

She nodded. "I know that you and I have been through a lot lately, going so far as to nearly kill one another on multiple occasions, but after today, this cattiness between us has to end. Both of us could've gotten killed today, and I just don't want to have any enemies right now." Mickie said. "So as of today, I'm calling a truce. We don't have to be friends, but we won't be enemies anymore, ok?"

Velvet sniffled and shrugged. "I don't know if I can, Mickie. As much as I want to be happy for you and Sab, I just can't. As long as you still have him, you're still considered my enemy."

The Diva sighed and defeatedly tossed her arms in the air. "Fine. I know that you're hurting Vel, but you can't keep wanting someone that you can't have. It's not good for you, you have to try and move on and just find someone else to make you happy. But it can't be Chris, because I love him." she said in a quiet voice before heading out of her room. Once Velvet saw her taking Chris's hand and heading off, her emotions got the best of her and she began to break down, crying.

* * *

Meanwhile, both Alex and AJ were still in Del Rio's place, making sure that Alberto was being carted off to jail. In the meantime, the Diva was downstairs looking at herself in the mirror, not taking her eyes off of the bruise on her neck. It wasn't too bad, but it still hurt her to look at what could've been even worse. Once she heard the back door close, she turned around to find her boyfriend.

"He's headed straight to jail as we speak." he announced.

The Diva smiled and immediately ran into his arms, while he tightly wrapped his arms around her in reply. When he pulled away to look at her, he noticed the bruise on her neck. "Oh my God, he did this to you?"

"No, no, Shells, it's not that bad, it's ok."

"It's not ok, the bastard held you at knifepoint! Oh God, thank goodness I came in there when I did. Did he…" he began.

"No, he didn't rape me, fortunately, but if you hadn't come, it'd be a different story. Alex, how were you able to find me?" asked AJ. "I was afraid that you didn't get my text."

"Oh, I got your text as soon as you sent it, and I flew out here just to find you. Unfortunately, I ran into a few roadblocks along the way."

"What kind of roadblocks?" she asked.

"Well, I was speeding and the cops arrested me, so I spent some time in jail. Luckily, my ex-girlfriend, who's a cop now just happened to find me and she was the one who found this address. So that's how I got here." he explained.

"Thank God." she smiled, running a hand along the side of his face. Then, her smile faded a little. "Hey, where'd this bruise on your cheek come from?"

"Oh, Del Rio's guards roughed me up a bit, nothing major." he replied.

"What? They hurt you?" she cried, getting worried.

"Hey, hey, baby, it's going to be all right. Del Rio's headed to jail where he belongs, and you and I were able to survive another one together. Like we always do." Alex said, smiling and combing her hair back. "I love you."

Another tear ran down her face. "I love you, too. You saved me, Shells, you're like my own personal Superman, y'know, without the costume and all." she said with a laugh.

"Eh, Superman's kinda overrated, I was thinking I'd be more like…the Green Lantern." he smirked.

"Oh, really?"

"I'm wearing a green shirt, duh!"

She laughed. "Look, baby, just take me home, ok? We've both had a long day and all I want to do is sleep."

"Amen to that. Let's get going, and tomorrow, I promise that I'm gonna take you to see the new Spiderman movie that we've been dying to see. How about it?" Alex asked as they left the place.

"Yay, you're the best!" she cheered.

"I know I am!" he agreed.


	129. Chapter 129

**_AN: Ok, so since all the drama and danger from the last few chapters are over and done with, the holidays are coming up and here's a special chapter that you probably didn't see coming..._  
**

* * *

**Chapter 129**

So after the Guns had gone through their traumatizing ordeals, both Del Rio and Dave were finally in jail where they belonged, and everyone was getting back to their regular lives. After hearing about this, Johnny was furious that his plans had failed miserably, and he was currently trying to plot something, _anything _that would take the Guns down for good. In the meantime, it was now nearly the end of December, and Christmas was only in a matter of days. To celebrate, the gang was planning on having a Christmas party at their hotel that evening.

Now, Alex and Chris were in their hotel room, chatting it up…

"Wow, I cannot believe Del Rio would just stoop that low to get close to AJ like he did." Sabin said, shocked to hear the whole story from Alex. "Thank God you came in when you did before he could have his way with her."

"Man, if anything had happened to her, I'd never forgive myself, so I had to do what I needed to do. Now, the sorry bastard's rotting in prison." Shelley replied, running a hand through his hair. "So how have you and Mickie been doing since the Dave incident?"

"She's actually been handling everything pretty well considering the fact that this was the second time that she's had a gun pulled on her. But believe it or not, I couldn't have saved either Mickie or Velvet without Jericho's help." replied Sabin.

"I still don't believe that Pseudo-Bon Jovi suddenly turned from bad guy to good guy in one night, come on." he said, skeptical.

"I never believed it, either, but the guy's really changed. But the fact of the matter is, Mickie and I are together again and things just couldn't be any better for us right now. In fact, I think I'm more in love with her now than I've ever been before." Chris said with a smile.

"Aww, Sab, you big softie! So what are you trying to say?"

"Well, considering that Christmas is coming up, I just feel that Mickie deserves a present that she'll remember. She's been through a lot lately and I just want to make things right for her again."

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Alex. "Tell me, tell me, TELL ME!"

"DUDE!" he cried. "I can't tell you what I haven't figured out myself yet! So chillax."

"Sorry dude, but I'm just happy!" he exclaimed, leaping onto the bed and causing Chris to tumble off and onto the floor.

"OW! What the hell are you so happy about, douche?" he demanded, getting back up.

"Duh, what else? The Christmas party tonight! I love Christmas and I love parties, so having them all rolled into one makes it twice the fun! Hey, one and fun rhyme, see, I'm so damn happy that I'm rhyming now." Alex smiled, jumping up and down on the bed.

"All right, all right, I GET IT, now just sit your happy ass down!" Sabin exclaimed, pulling him down.

Alex shoved him. "Don't tell me to sit down."

Chris shoved him back. "Well, I just did, you gonna DO something about it?"

"Yeah, I'm gonna kick your ass, COME HERE!" Shelley exclaimed, tackling his friend down to the point where they were play wrestling all over the bed.

Moments later, there was a knock on the door and the two turned around to find Velvet Sky of all people standing in the doorway.

"Oh, no." Alex muttered, rolling his eyes.

"Velvet. Hey, what are you doing here?" Sabin asked. "I thought you were headed to Florida."

"I was, but I was thinking about everything that happened recently and I wanted to talk to you for a moment. If you'll let me."

Chris nodded, and then turned to Alex.

"FINE, fine, I'll leave you two alone. I'm gonna go and meet with April and Mickie at the mall." Shelley replied, heading out and muttering, "Scary Spice." to the blonde.

"Oh, SHUT UP!" Velvet called back.

"Ok, then…" Chris chuckled. "Anyway, how's your arm feeling?"

"It's nearly as good as new, and so is my leg, actually. The doctors say that I'll be cleared to head back into the ring in just about a month!" Velvet said, smiling.

"Oh wow, congratulations." he smiled back. "I'm really happy for you. Is this what you came here to tell me?"

"Well, that and…I wanted to talk about you and Mickie."

"Vel, this is a closed subject, so for the last time—"

"Chris, just listen. I've given it some thought, and I've realized that you and I don't have a chance anymore. Even though I've tried and tried to hold on, I just never seemed to grab you like Mickie has. And after the fact that all of us could've gotten killed by Dave that day, it just made me think of how precious life really is, and how we shouldn't waste it by fighting." she explained.

"Vel, is this your way of apologizing?" Sabin asked with a half smile.

"I—yeah. And I just wanted to tell you before I left, was that I give you my blessing to be with Mickie. You two belong together, and there's no fighting it anymore. I want you two to be happy together." the Knockout replied.

"Oh my God, I've never seen this side of you before, I'm impressed!" he said with a chuckle. "But seriously, Vel, it really means a lot to hear that from you. And y'know, even though you and I aren't together anymore, we'll always continue to be friends no matter what."

She smiled and took his hand. "I'd totally love that. Friend."

"Friend." he repeated. "So uh, when's your flight back to Florida?"

"Soon, why?"

"Well…I don't want you to leave so quickly. I have something very important that I have to do before the party tonight, and I'll need your help. So could you maybe stick around for a few more hours?" asked the Detroit native.

"Hey, that's what friends are for." she agreed.

"Awesome, let's get going now before the stores get too packed." he said, leading the way.

"What are you thinking, it's only a few days before Christmas, of COURSE the stores are gonna be packed!" she exclaimed as they headed out.

"Oh, stop being so pessimistic, I'm trying to look on the bright side here!" he called back.

* * *

So later that night, the party was being held in the hotel's lobby, and the Guns, AJ, Mickie, CM Punk, Britani, Kaitlyn, and many of their friends were there having a good time…

"GO, GO, GO, GO, GO, GO!" the guys chanted, watching Alex compete in a Bud Light chugging competition against Christian Cage. Meanwhile, the girls were watching from the other side of the room.

"Men." Kaitlyn scoffed. "What good is this going to be, I mean, we're just going to end up with two drunken men parading around acting like idiots! What if one of them decided to rip his clothes off and begins streaking?"

AJ lit up and held her bottle of Mike's Hard Lemonade in the air in approval. "If I get a chance to see Alex running around here without any clothes, then I'm all for it!" she exclaimed, smiling.

"Ooh, you're so naughty, AJ." Britani said, laughing.

"What do you want me to do? The man turns me on." she chuckled, taking a swig of her liquor filled drink. Well, she didn't know that, anyway.

"Uh, AJ?" she asked.

"Hmm?"

"Uh, about your drink…" she began.

"Oh, you two have got to try this stuff, this is the best lemonade I've ever tasted!" she exclaimed.

Kaitlyn and Britani exchanged smirks. The blonde replied, "April, that's not regular lemonade."

"Hmm. Now that you mention it, it does taste a little…different. Maybe it has more sugar or something." she shrugged it off. "Well who cares, I want more."

"Okaaay, don't say we didn't warn ya." Kaitlyn laughed.

"Hey girls, room for one more?" Mickie asked, joining them on the couch. "Uh, AJ… that lemonade isn't really lemona—"

"Forget it, it's a lost cause." Kaitlyn cut her off.

"So anyway, what's up? How have you and Chris been since…y'know, what happened the other day?" asked Britani.

"We've been coping with things pretty well and we're just glad that nobody else but Dave ended up getting hurt. So Katie, B, I just wanted to make sure that things between the three of us were ok again."

The two looked at one another and nodded.

"Of course. The day that we crashed the party that Jericho threw for you and when we ended up sabotaging you guys, we were just trying to teach you a lesson." replied the British Diva.

"Yeah, that Jericho was no good for you." Kaitlyn agreed.

"And there's the fact that we had to take desperate measures in order to have our friend back." Punk agreed, joining them. "Hi."

"Hi." Mickie giggled. "Well, I have to admit, what you guys did to me certainly was a wake up call. I never want to have cake smashed in my face and have wine splashed at me again, so I gotta say that I deserved it after the way I've been acting. Guys, I'm sorry. About everything. I promise, Evil Mickie is gone for good and Sweet Mickie is back to stay." the Diva announced.

"Yay!—Welcome back." the three cheered, exchanging hugs.

"So, now that we're all rainbows and smiles again, are we gonna get to the gift wrapping soon or do I have to sit and watch Shelley and Christian drink themselves into an oblivion for the next hour?" Punk asked, sighing. "How much alcohol could two men take, I mean they've been going at it for the last 20 minutes!"

"Oh relax, Punk, and let them have their fun! You only live once, right?" AJ exclaimed, taking another swig of her drink.

He eyed her down and saw her 'lemonade'. "Uh, and what are YOU drinking?"

"Let it go." Mickie, Britani, and Kaitlyn said at once.

"So anyway, Mickie, what's wrong? You've been a little quiet lately." said Punk.

"Oh, nothing major. It's just that I've barely seen Chris all day. He hasn't texted me or anything, and I'm just…I dunno, a little worried." the Country Diva said.

"There's nothing to be worried about, Micks! You and Chris just got back together, and you survived a hostage situation not too long ago. So there shouldn't be anything wrong going on between you two." replied Britani.

"In fact, you two should be happier than ever." agreed Kaitlyn.

"We are! But still, I just can't help but to be a little paranoid." the Diva replied.

"Velvet's not here anymore, so you don't have to worry about her stealing your man, but if you're so unsure, then why don't you go upstairs to your hotel room to see if he's there, all right?" she asked.

"Yeah, I think I will." Mickie agreed, heading off.

"Don't be too long, we're opening gifts in a few minutes and I want MINE!" Punk called.

The girls gave him looks, while AJ hiccuped.

"…What?"

"I WIN!" Alex cheered from a distance, before joining the group again. He rushed to AJ and gave her a big kiss while she let out a slurred giggle in reply. "People, I am the Bud Light drinking CHAMPION! WOO HOO!"

"Yaaaaaaayyy, go Shells!" AJ exclaimed, the drink beginning to get to her.

"Two birds of a feather." Punk mumbled when Britani nudged him to shut him up.

"So Alex, aren't you worried that those drinks are gonna go to your head?" asked CM.

"Oh, not at all, man. See, with me, it takes me exactly 6 hours to get completely drunk, 3 and a half to get partly drunk." he explained.

"Why does it take you so long?" asked Kaitlyn.

"Cause. I'm special." he smirked, wrapping an arm around his girlfriend. "So, what's up with you, baby?"

AJ took another huge swig of her liquor lemonade and carelessly tossed back the bottle. "That…was the BEST lemonade that I have ever tasted!...BAH!" she cried out loud, before giggling and snorting. "Will somebody get me another bottle, please and thank you."

Alex looked at her, shocked. "Who the hell gave my girlfriend alcohol?!" he demanded.

* * *

Meanwhile, Mickie ran upstairs, hoping that Chris was somewhere in their room. Once she approached the door, she saw that it was open a bit, enough for her to see inside and for whoever was inside not to see her.

"Chris? You in here?" she asked in a small voice.

Strangely enough, she heard TWO voices inside, and she raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"_So, are you sure that's all you need, Chris?" _asked a familiar feminine voice.

"_Yep, that should do it. Thanks for everything, Vel, I couldn't have done it without you." _he replied.

"What the—" Mickie began, swinging open the door to find her boyfriend and her so-called enemy Velvet sharing a hug. Well, to her it looked like more than a hug, but either way, she was upset. The two quickly broke away and saw her expression, trying to explain that it really wasn't what it looked like.

"Mickie, wait, it's not what you think it is!" Chris exclaimed.

She scornfully shook her head and said, "Don't even try to explain." before speeding off.

"Mickie!" called Velvet. "Chris, you better go after her."

He nodded and sped after her. "Mickie! Wait!"

The Country Diva sped down the stairs, out of the back door of the hotel so that nobody would see her, and out into the pouring rain (yes, in the dead heat of winter, it was raining) during the middle of the night, running to wherever she thought that she could hide. Chris was soon on her tail. "Mickie, will you stop running and listen to me for a second?" he demanded, freezing her in her tracks by wrapping his arms around her.

"How the hell could you do this to me with HER, Chris? I thought you loved me!" she snapped.

"I DO love you, Mickie! Now can you let me explain what was going on?" he asked.

"What's there to explain? Your feelings for her apparently hadn't gone away, so you just wanted to take her while she was available. I should've known that something was going on when you were practically ignoring me all day and I couldn't find a trace of you, and the fact that you and her are all buddy-buddy now. Right?" she demanded.

He had the most serious look on his face. "No. What you just saw in there was me and Velvet sharing a friendly hug. And that's only because I was thanking her for her help."

"What help?"

"The only reason why I was spending so much time with her lately, was because I was just trying to find the perfect way to propose to you." he announced, to her shock.

"...What?" she asked in a tiny voice.

He took her hands and continued, "I wanted it to be a surprise, but the cat's out of the bag now. Mickie, you and I both know that we were meant for one another. You've been there for me countless times and I can't thank you enough for that."

"And you've been there for me." she agreed quietly.

"Yeah! And-and I know that we've had some roadblocks in our way in the past, but you were, and still are the first woman I would ever come to for anything. You're my goddess, Mickie, and I love you. I really hope that you'll make me the happiest Gun in Detroit if you'll choose to marry me." Sabin said sincerely, taking out a diamond ring from his pocket.

"Oh God, Chris, I had no idea! I'm so sorry that I snapped at you and Velvet! I-I just wasn't thinking-" she babbled.

He chuckled. "Babe, babe, it's all right, it's an honest mistake."

Although it was pouring rain, the tears of happiness could still be seen on her face. "Anyways, Chris, I hope I'll make you the happiest Gun in Detroit when I say yes!" she smiled brightly. "I'd LOVE to marry you!"

The former X Division champ returned her smile and slipped the ring on her finger. "Perfect fit." he announced.

"Just like us." Mickie added. "I love you so much, Sabin."

"I love you just as much, Sweet Mickie." he replied, as they shared a deeply intoxicating kiss. They didn't care that they were getting soaked in the rain in the process, either. They were going to spend the rest of their lives together, and that's all that mattered.


	130. Chapter 130

**_AN: Ok, so this is just kind of a pointless filler chapter so...yeah. Not much to say here. Sorry._  
**

* * *

**Chapter 130**

After the proposal, a beaming Mickie and Chris re-entered the hotel from the back, soaking wet and holding hands. They had to enter the back because they didn't want anyone else to find out about the news just yet, and they wanted to make the announcement a surprise.

As they headed to their hotel room, Mickie told her now fiancé, "Oh my God, Chris, I'm still in shock. I can't get over the fact that we're getting married!"

He returned her smile and gave her another kiss. "Baby, after everything that we've went through recently, I realized that I could've lost you forever and I just felt that I needed to do the right thing and make you my wife right away. I am more in love with you now than ever, Mickie. I just couldn't wait to propose to you." he explained, taking her hands.

"Oh, babe…I love you now more than ever, too." she agreed, reaching up to give him a kiss.

"So, does this mean that we'll finally get the love nest that we were meant to build together?" he asked cutely.

She laughed and replied, "I've meant to ask you this ever since we met, but what the hell is a 'love nest'?"

"Well duh, isn't it obvious, babe? A nest of love!"

"You're such a weirdo!" Mickie laughed again, playfully shoving him.

He laughed in return and playfully shoved her. "Yeah, but you're about to marry this weirdo, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I suppose I am." she smiled, giving him another kiss. "So now all there's left to do is make the announcement to everyone downstairs. How should we tell em?"

"I say we tease them a bit, keep em guessing until one of em figures it out." replied Chris.

Right then and there, a fully drunk AJ skipped upstairs to find the two. "Hi!" she exclaimed.

"Oh hey, AJ, what's up?" asked Sabin.

"Soooooooo…Why are you two wet? Huh, huh, huh?" she slurred, smiling.

The two exchanged amused looks.

"Sis, are you drunk right now?" he asked.

"Drunk? Are you kidding, I'm on top of the WORLD, WHOOO!" she cheered.

"Ok, girlie, you need to lie down and let Alex take care of you. If he isn't drunk himself, that is." replied Mickie.

"No, I don't wanna leave until you tell me what your news is!" the tiny Diva exclaimed.

"Uh, what news?" the Country Diva asked, trying to act like she didn't know.

"HA! Don't play dumb, Mickie, I know that something's going on and I wanna know! So tell me, tell me, TELL ME!" she exclaimed, grabbing each of their arms and jumping up and down.

They slowly backed away and Chris replied, "Uh, sis, I don't know if you've been eavesdropping or what, but first let Mickie and I head in our room to change into some dry clothes, and we'll join you guys downstairs. That sound good?"

"Ok, I'll stand right here and wait for you!" AJ exclaimed, sitting in front of their door.

The two nodded meekly and slowly backed into their room, and slowly and awkwardly closed the door in front of her smiling face. Mickie looked through the eyehole on the door. "…She's not leaving, is she?"

"_HA HA!"_ she laughed from outside.

"Probably not. C'mon, babe, let's get changed first." Sabin concluded.

A few moments later…

The two stepped out of their room and to their non-surprise, AJ was still right where she was before. "YAAAAAYYY, you're back!" she cheered.

"Ok, AJ, get up. C'mon." Mickie said as she and Chris helped her up. "You need to get some sleep and worry about the massive hangover that you're going to have in the morning."

"I don't wanna go to sleep! I want you guys to tell me your BIIIIG news!" she exclaimed as the three went downstairs and soon entered the lobby. Before they could reach everyone else, Chris whispered, "Ok, sis, we're planning on telling everyone here sooner or later, but we want to tease em first, y'know, make em guess what we have to tell them."

"But what we WILL do is tell you straight out. Don't tell anyone this, but…" Mickie began, smiling and flashing her shiny engagement ring.

The tiny Diva gasped and instead of keeping it on the down low, she loudly exclaimed, "OMG, YOU'RE GETTING MARRIED!"

"What?!" Alex, Punk, Britani, Kaitlyn, and everyone else exclaimed in shock.

Mickie rolled her eyes while Chris sarcastically said, "Yeah, thanks, sis."

"YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY!" AJ exclaimed, wrapping them in a huge hug.

Meanwhile, the others rushed to them.  
"Chris, Mickie, is what she said true?" asked Shelley. "You guys are tying the knot?"

The two looked at one another, and Mickie flashed her diamond ring again. "This your answer?"

"AAH!" the girls squealed, wrapping the Diva in a tight hug. "Congratulations!"

In the meantime, both Alex and Punk shared manly hugs with Chris.

"Aw, dude, I can't believe it! So THIS is the important thing that you had to do today, nice!" Shelley exclaimed.

"Congrats, Sabin! Finally taking that plunge, huh?" Punk asked, chuckling.

"Yeah, I love this woman too much!" he exclaimed, wrapping an arm around Mickie.

"Oh my God, Mickie, tell us everything that happened, did he get down on one knee?" Kaitlyn asked, dragging the Diva away along with Britani.

"Well, well, wait a sec, everyone! I propose a toast!" Alex announced, holding up a can of soda. "To my two best friends in the world…it's about damn time!"

"YEAH—WHOO!" they cheered, toasting their drinks.

"This most certainly is a Merry Christmas, ain't it?" Punk asked, chuckling and taking a sip of his Pepsi.

"Oh yeah, in fact, I—" Alex began, when AJ suddenly threw herself on him and slurred, "Alex, baby, I wanna celebrate by you and me going up to our room and having some HOOOOT sex! Whaddya say? Pwease?"

Punk rolled his eyes while Alex said, "April, baby, you're drunk right now and I think it's better if we—wait, what the hell am I saying, let's knock some boots, baby!"

While they took hands and sped upstairs, Chris and Punk exchanged looks and laughed.

"Wow, so they respond to mine and Mickie's marriage announcement by having sex?" Sabin questioned.

"Dude, don't question it, just drink and be merry." CM replied, toasting his Pepsi with him. "Happy Holidays."

"Merry Christmas, dude."

* * *

The next morning, AJ was still in bed, knocked out from her wild night of partying before, when Mickie smiled and took a seat next to her on the bed. She tapped the top of her head. "Girlie. Wake up."

"Nmmm…" she mumbled.

"April, come on, it's nearly noon, wake up!"

"No." she replied, using her pillow to cover her head.

"Fine, then you leave me no choice." the Country Diva replied, before whacking her over the head with the pillow.

"HEY!" AJ groaned, pulling the blanket over her chest to cover her nude form. "Mickie, what the hell?"

"Oh good, you're awake!" she smiled. "Jeez, do you even remember what happened last night?"

She groaned and held a hand over her aching forehead. "Uhh, my head's killing me. What happened?"

"Well, you got drunk over lemonade and now you're facing your very first hangover. Congratulations!" Mickie exclaimed.

"I got DRUNK? Over lemonade? Crap. This blows. So wait, why—why am I naked? What happened?" she began freaking out.

"Relax, hun, relax! You and Alex just had sex last night, that's all. It's not like you stumbled into some strange guy's hotel room, you were with your boyfriend, so everything's all right." she said, trying to calm her best friend down.

"Oh, good. So, where's Alex, anyway?"

"He tried waking you up for at least 35 minutes, but he gave up and headed to Dunkin Donuts. So he left me with the daunting task of waking the sleeping princess." the Country Diva smirked.

"Kay, well, waking up to this hangover really blows, so can I have some aspirin, please?" AJ mumbled.

"Sure."

While she got up to hand her the Advil, AJ eyed her friend down suspiciously and then asked, "So now let me question you. Any reason why you're in such a good mood?"

"Wow, you really don't remember last night at all, do you? AJ, you'll never believe this, but…Chris asked me to marry him last night." she repeated, to the shock of the now-sober Diva.

Her eyes widened. "Get out. Get…OUT!" she exclaimed, sitting up. "Oh, my God, let me see your engagement ring!"

She flashed her the ring and said, "Beautiful, isn't it?"

"Oh!" she gushed, taking her hand and admiring the ring. "It's gorgeous! How was the proposal like?"

"Well, unexpected to say the least. I first walked in on him and Velvet hugging, so I immediately thought the worst and ran outside. But then he stopped me and told me everything, and asked me to marry him right there and then. Of course, I said yes, and…God, it was just so romantic kissing him in the rain. It was perfect." Mickie said, smiling at the memory.

"Oh, I can't believe that my best friend and my brother are getting married! Me so happy for you!" AJ smiled, wrapping her in a hug.

"Thanks!"

"So now, once I recover from my splitting headache, we are going to have a few busy months ahead of us, y'know, getting the cake, picking out wedding rings, a place to have the wedding, who we're gonna invite, what the color scheme is, getting dresses…" she rambled on, while Mickie sighed, suddenly remembering all the stresses that came with planning a wedding.

"April, APRIL!" she stopped her. "Let's just—let's take one thing at a time, ok? Let me sink in the news that I'm finally marrying the man of my dreams first, all right? We'll deal with all this other stuff later."

"Okay. So, when do you guys plan on getting married, anyway?" asked AJ.

"Hmm, to tell you the truth, I dunno. Honestly, I just hope it'll be as soon as possible, cause I don't think I can wait much longer." the Country Diva said, blushing.

"I understand." AJ chuckled back. "So uh…I just realized that I hate hangovers."

"We tried to warn you about that lemonade, but YOU didn't listen! So you brought this all on yourself, silly. But then again, Drunk AJ is really funny!"

"Stop it, I like Sober AJ better!" the tiny Diva laughed, hitting her with her pillow.

* * *

_**AN: Happy Holidays, peeps! **_


	131. Chapter 131

**Chapter 131**

It was about a week later, and that particular Monday was also New Year's Eve. The Guns and their friends had celebrated an awesome Christmas, exchanging gifts and such, but the main talk was of Chris and Mickie's wedding plans. The two were intent on just keeping things laid back and easy, but their friends were really beginning to stress them out with, well, everything. And now that it was New Year's Eve, the gang had a busy night ahead of them, with Monday Night Raw happening as well.

Now, the friends were in their locker room…

"I love my present." Alex announced with a smile, staring at his new watch/lava lamp. Yes, it was a watch that could both tell time and change colors at the same time. "Thanks, April!"

"No problem, it also changes colors due to your mood. See, guess what blue means?" she asked.

"Cheap?" Chris asked with a smirk.

Alex shot him a look. "Who the hell asked you, bunghole?!" he demanded. "Shouldn't you and Mickie be working on what you're putting in the little goody bags during your wedding reception?"

"We have to worry about that, too?" Mickie asked, worried.

"Yeah, man, we already have like, a million things to do!" agreed Sabin.

"Hey, you two are getting married, and if you want a proper wedding, you have to get a lot done. But don't worry, that's what we're here for!" AJ exclaimed.

"Yeah, April and I won't rest, and we won't let YOU two rest until everything's set in stone. Aren't you lucky to have us?" Shelley asked, smiling.

Mickie chuckled while Chris shot him a look in return. "We're lucky to have AJ."

"OH! What the hell is that supposed to mean, douchebag?!" Alex demanded, approaching him.

"Ah, Shells, relax, I'm just messing with ya. But seriously, you guys, as much as we appreciate what you're doing for us…" he began.

"…we just think that you should tone it down a bit." finished Mickie. "Besides, tonight's New Year's Eve and we oughta do something special after the show to ring in 2013!"

"But what should we do?" asked AJ.

Before anyone could answer, CM Punk and Britani entered the room.

"Hey all! Lovebirds, how are the wedding plans going?" asked Britani.

"We're trying to forget about em for now. Anyhoo, what brings you two here?" asked Mickie.

"Well, since tonight's New Year's, we just thought that we should all get together after the show and do something special." answered Punk. "Wanna watch Dick Clark's Rockin' New Year's Eve on TV?"

"I miss Dick Clark." announced Chris.

"Yeah, me too." agreed Alex. "Let's have a moment of silence for him."

The six of them bowed their heads in respect for him, and about five seconds later, he called, "Ok, that's good."

"You know, I've always wanted to head to Times Square to watch the ball drop in person." announced AJ. "But I know that'll never happen."

"Why not? In fact, that's actually a great idea!" Shelley exclaimed.

"Oh God." the others groaned.

"No, just hear me out! Since we're already in New York, why don't we just swing by Times Square after our matches are over with?" he continued. "It's only like, a train ride there, what could go wrong?"

"Uh, how about the fact that there are about 40 billion people there already?" Mickie asked, crossing her arms.

"Yeah, dude, how do you expect us to get a good spot if it's like, 9:45 P.M.?" agreed Chris. "To get a good spot, you gotta be there at around 10, 11in the morning."

"They do have a couple of good points, Shells. By now, they might not even be letting in any more people." AJ said, taking his arm.

"Guys, come on! Did you forget who you're talking to? I'm Alex Shelley, and I'm known to make things happen. I say that we'll have no problem making it to Times Square, and we'll even get great spots because I have the gift of persuasion." the Detroit native replied.

"Oh, is that so called 'gift' gonna get us past the cops and their guard dogs ready to bite our asses off if we even try to cut in line?" asked Punk.

"Yes. In fact, it will." he replied confidently. "I'm sure of it. Come on, have I ever steered you wrong—"

"YES." they answered, cutting him off.

"Well."

"Wait, wait, come on, don't count Alex out. Since I've lived in England for all my life, I've heard that New York's the place to go to see the ball drop, and I for one would absolutely love to see it in person." Britani replied.

"Thank you, Britani." Shelley replied. "See, don't you want our British beauty here to experience a taste of America's New Year's celebration? Now if you people want to take that away from her, then frankly, I am shocked and appalled. Hmph." he said, crossing his arms and not facing them in an immature fashion.

The gang exchanged looks, before Punk spoke up first. "He's right. Babe, you do deserve to see the ball drop in person, and I say what the hell, let's go just for the hell of it." he told his girlfriend.

"And I can't doubt my sexy Shelleykins, either. I really want to go, too." AJ said, smiling.

"Ok, and if you guys are going, then I will too." Mickie agreed.

"And if my beautiful fiancée's going, then count the Chrismeister in!" Sabin exclaimed, raising a hand.

"Yay! I knew you guys couldn't pass up an opportunity like this one!" Alex cheered. "Now all we have to do is finish up whatever business we have here, and then we can head out to catch the next train and we'll be there in no time! Trust me, guys, nothing is gonna go wrong."

Well, the others weren't so sure about that.

* * *

So later after everyone finished up what they had to do at the arena, the gang went through with the plan and rushed to the nearest train station to head to Times Square. Now of course, the train ride was a disaster since the six of them could barely get a seat, due to the hoards of people there. Also, Punk nearly got into a fist fight with some annoying 16 year old kid. After a 20 minute ride of hell, the friends had made it to Penn Station and as late as they already were, Chris insisted on stopping to buy a few Slurpees from a nearby 7-11. Alex nearly strangled him for causing their lateness, but Mickie was able to stop him before he was going to. Finally, through a lot of pushing and shoving, they finally made it to Times Square. Now all there was for them to do was to make their way up to the front stage to see a few celebrity performances and to see the ball drop from up close.

"All right, we're almost there! Everyone, just hold hands and stay together, all right? We can't get separated!" Alex called, grabbing AJ's hand. Chris and Punk grabbed a hand, but once they looked down, they realized that they were holding each _other's _hands.

"Oh, damn!" Chris cried, immediately grabbing Mickie's hand instead. "Sorry!"

"Yeah, you better be, dude! Besides, why's your hand all sticky?" Punk said, glaring at him while he grabbed Britani's hand.

"Sorry, my Slurpee's just kinda melting and it got all over my hand." he replied, slurping two at the same time.

"Babe, how many of those did you buy?" asked the Country Diva.

"Like, 6 or 7." he replied as the gang had to shove past people to get to the front.

"Dude, are you crazy? If you drink all those, you're going to have to take a piss sooner or later, and no matter what, we are NOT leaving to find the men's room." Alex announced sternly. "Do you understand me?"

He rolled his eyes. "Yes, DAD. Relax and stop worrying about me, we finally made it here, isn't this awesome?" he cried, looking around at the place.

"Aw, epic. This is way better than I ever pictured it." Punk agreed. "So, babe, what do you think so far?"

Britani lit up and jumped up and down. "Oh Punkers, this is bloody gorgeous! The lights, the loud noises, it's just like I dreamed it'd be! But you know what, now I want those little 2013 shaped glasses that everyone's wearing."

"I got it covered." Alex announced, handing them all glasses. "And here are some tiaras for the ladies, and hats for us men. See, guys, I told you that I'd get us all here with no problem!"

"Well I knew that you'd be right, Shells." AJ said, giving him a kiss and slipping on her purple tiara. "This is so awesome!"

"I thought that we'd be here totally late but we still have a good 45 minutes to spare!" Mickie exclaimed, before turning to Chris. "So, future husband, how you holding up?"

He smiled and gave her a kiss. "I'm doing wonderful, my future wife! You want a sip of my Hawaiian Punch flavored Slurpee?"

"Sure, where is it?"

"I—" he looked around to find two boys running away, carrying two of his Slurpee cups. "HEY! Those little punks stole my damn drinks, I'm gonna kill em!" he cried, about to head back, when Mickie stopped him.

"Sab, SAB, just stop!" she cried. "Don't go after them and end up running into the cops and losing your spot here all at the same time. Now come on, you've had too many of those drinks, anyway."

"But I just let two teenagers steal from me." he said, pouting.

"Yeah, Chris, don't you feel emasculated?" Punk asked, chuckling. "Come on, you're a professional wrestler and you're way stronger than those two little creeps. You really gonna just let em get away with that?"

"I—"

Alex snatched his other Slurpee and tossed it somewhere in the crowd to prove a point. "HA! See, Sab, what are you going to do about THAT? Huh? You gonna go after me, or are you too…_scared?" _he asked, smirking.

"I'm not too scared to kick your ass, you little—Mickie, do something about him, he's bullying me!" he suddenly whined.

The gang laughed.

So during the next few minutes, the gang had themselves one hell of a time watching the celebrity musical performances onstage and just anticipating the big moment that would bring in the New Year. Finally, it was 11:59 and everyone looked towards the ball, counting along as it slowly inched down the pole.

"Oh my God, guys, this is it!" Britani exclaimed, grabbing Punk's arm. "This is so exciting!"

"I say when it turns midnight, free alcohol for everyone!" AJ exclaimed, throwing her arms in the air.

"Don't drink what your tiny little body can't hold, girlie, you learned that the hard way." Mickie said, laughing.

"No, April's right, we're gonna drink to our heart's content and have a DAMN good time!" agreed Alex.

"Uh, we're not ALL going to drink, thank you." Punk said sternly. "Oh hot damn, there's only 20 seconds left!"

"Ooh, aren't you excited, Chris?" Mickie asked, turning to him.

He forced a smile, but was hopping up and down.

"Wow, you really are excited, Jumpy!" she exclaimed.

"I am, but…all those Slurpees finally got to me." he announced.

"Chris, you're not serious."

"Yeah, I really have to pee right about now."

"I warned you about this, Sabin!" Alex called. "Now you have to deal with it and let your bladder explode for all I care, cause we're not leaving!"

"Oh, SHUT UP, Alex!" he snapped.

"Why don't you BOTH shut up and start counting down before you miss the damn ball drop?!" Punk cried.

Everyone quickly turned to the ball and counted, "10…9…8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1, HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

And as the fireworks exploded in the air and the 2013 sign began to glow, each couple turned to one another in a passionate kiss for good luck.

Punk and Britani broke away from their kiss and the two were left laughing.

"Wow. Wow, who knew that kissing in the middle of millions of people would feel so—so invigorating?" the Straightedge Superstar announced.

"I know! But you know what, it felt so right bringing in the new year with you. I love you, Phil." the British Diva replied.

"Well, we oughta do this again next year! And for the record, I love you, too." he agreed.

Chris and Mickie broke away from their kiss when she said, "I have a feeling that this year is going to be a great one for us, don't you?"

He smiled and was still rocking back and forth since he had to pee so badly. "Oh, I already know that this is going to be an awesome year. Cause soon enough, we'll be husband and wife. I love you, fiancée."

"I love you too, fiancé. And if I kiss you again, you better not pee your pants, I swear." she said sternly.

"Uh, can't promise anything, but I'll try."

"Happy 2013, baby." Alex said, breaking away from his kiss with AJ and combing back her hair.

"Happy kiss, too." she smiled.

"Yeah, VERY happy kiss! Wanna do it again?" he smiled back.

"Yay!" she cheered as they engaged in another liplock. Then, she paused once she felt her phone vibrating. "Uhh. Who's calling?" she groaned, pulling away to look at her phone, which had one unread text message.

"Who's that from?" Alex asked.

"I dunno—" she paused, reading the message that said,

"_April, I just wanted to let you and that lowlife boyfriend of yours know that I want you to look forward to an…eventful new year. Trust me, I believe this will be a year that neither of you will forget. Plus, I suggest that you keep an eye on your precious Alex. One false move in the wrong neck of the woods, and he could be in a world of trouble._

_ -Sincerely, your loving father."_

Her heart suddenly dropped upon hearing the message and she silently gasped. Alex knew that expression all too well and looked at her, saying, "It's from him, isn't it?"

She slowly nodded, not knowing what to say anymore. Only her father had the ability to turn her night from great to horrible in a matter of seconds.

* * *

_**AN: Happy (almost) 2013, peeps!**_


	132. Chapter 132

**_AN: Hope this one makes you LOL._  
**

* * *

**Chapter 132**

About a few days after New Year's, the gang was still busily preparing for Mickie and Chris's upcoming wedding, and as usual, the two were getting both stressed/annoyed at the amount of work that came with planning a wedding. Their friends had taken notice of this and decided to give them a break by throwing respective bachelor/bachelorette parties for them…

That morning, the four gathered together for breakfast.

"Alex, do you sure you know what you're doing?" AJ asked while he was at the stove.

"Of course I do, I'm just making pancakes."

"Yeah, but the last time you made pancakes, they uh…kinda got burnt and got so stuck to the pan that I had to chisel the rest of the scraps off." the Diva replied.

He gasped, pretending to be insulted. "April, that only happened one time and you know it! Just because I burned a few pancakes doesn't mean that I'm a horrible cook."

"Uh, you ALSO nearly burnt the place down when you tried to prepare an omelet."

"That was Chris's fault, the bunghole distracted me in the first place!" he cried.

"You even tried to prepare a salad and then somehow a fork ended up stuck in your arm." she finished.

He smirked. "Well, April, I really must thank you for this wonderful trip down memory lane. But I assure you, these pancakes will be the best ones you've ever tasted!" he exclaimed.

Next, Chris and Mickie, both smiling, held hands and joined the two.

"Hey, what's burning?" called Sabin.

Alex shot him and look and then slammed down his pan. "Screw this, we're settling for cereal instead." he announced, grabbing a box of Cookie Crisps.

"Praise the lord, our lives are being spared from the disaster which is Alex's cooking." Sabin replied, laughing.

"Why?! Why do you gotta keep bringing me down, dillhole?!" he demanded.

"Chris, stop making Alex feel bad about himself, it's not nice." Mickie announced.

"But it's fun!" he whined.

Shelley angrily munched his cereal in reply.

"Aw, come on Shells, you may not be the best cook, but you have many other talents! You can sing, you're an amazing wrestler, you're hot, and did I mention how _talented _you are in bed?" AJ asked, seductively tracing a finger down his chest.

"Oh, uh, well…" he blushed a bit. "Thank you, babe."

"So, since today is such a bee-yoo-ti-ful day, what do we have planned?" asked Mickie.

"Well, since your wedding day is coming up—wait. When IS your wedding day?" asked AJ.

The two looked at one another and shrugged.

"We uh, never really got to thinking when." replied Chris.

"Hopefully soon, why?" asked the Country Diva.

"Well, today, we were planning on giving you two your bachelor and bachelorette parties." replied AJ. "Mickie, you, me, Britani, Kaitlyn, and the other girls are planning on heading to the spa for a girls' day out, and trust me, this will be a party that you will NOT forget."

"Oh my God, YAY!" she cheered, getting up to give her friend a hug. "I love spas and I love parties, so I'm happy!"

"Great! And what we're going to do first is head to David's Bridal for you to pick out your dress. Now you're going to need a lot of time to decide, so that's why we're leaving early." AJ replied, grabbing her hand and leading her into the bedroom. "C'mon, you need to get freshened up and changed, and we'll be out in no time."

"But what about breakfast?" she called after her.

"Oh, we can stop somewhere later, we gotta go!"

After they headed off, Alex replied, "So after I slave over that cereal, everyone walks out on me. Can you believe that?!"

Chris laughed. "So uh, what do you have planned for MY bachelor party?" he asked, curious.

"Well, uh, I didn't want to say this in front of the girls, but dude, oh man, are you in for an awesome day. I've arranged for us to head to the Bunny Ranch!" he exclaimed excitedly.

He lit up. "We're headed to Beverly Hills and the Playboy Mansion?!" he cried, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "I love you, man!"

"Eeeh, don't do that again, heh?" Alex asked wearily. "Now uh, I can't afford for us to head all the way to Beverly Hills, so I meant the Bunny Ranch, y'know, the strip club on the other side of town."

"Oh." he said flatly.

"Come on, Sab, this club's one of the hottest in this state! And trust me, once we head there, you are gonna thank me."

"That's nice of you, dude, but going to a strip club? I dunno, I'll feel like I'm cheating on Mickie, and that's the LAST thing I wanna do."

"You're not cheating on anyone! This is your bachelor party, dude, this is supposed to be the last day that you can celebrate being a free man and doing whatever you want to!" Alex exclaimed. "Now cheer up, man, this is going to be a great day for you, just trust me, all right?"

Sabin shrugged and smiled a bit. "All right. So when are we going?"

Right then and there, Punk knocked on the door and poked his head inside. "Hey, Alex, did you tell him yet?"

"Just did, man, we're all set and ready to go."

"Ooh, Cookie Crisps, my fave!" CM lit up, taking the bowl that Mickie left.

"Hey, dude, you're coming with us?" Chris asked, smiling.

"Hey, you are one of my best friends, and I want to help make your bachelor party memorable, too. Besides, the three of us always have one hell of a time together!" he exclaimed, patting him on the shoulder.

"Aww, guys, I feel so loved!"

"Well, we're not sitting here to have a mush fest, so dude, you go and get changed, and we'll be out in no time!" Alex exclaimed.

"Yay!" he cheered, heading into the bedroom.

"Dude, uh, you sure this is gonna work?" Punk asked quietly.

"Punk, do you know who you're talking to? Now come on, I've never steered you guys wrong before, so just relax and trust me here." replied Shelley.

* * *

Later that day, the three were in their rental car, driving the day away, with Alex in the driver's seat, Chris in the passenger's seat, and Punk in the back.

"_No stop signs, speed limit_

_Nobody's gonna slow me down_

_Like a wheel, gonna spin it_

_Nobody's gonna mess me around_

_Hey satan, payin' my dues_

_Playin' in a rockin' band_

_Hey mumma, look at me_

_I'm on the way to the promised land_

_I'm on the highway to hell_

_Highway to hell_

_I'm on the highway to hell_

_HIGHWAY TO HELL!" _

After they finished singing, the three laughed when Alex said, "You guys can't sing to save your lives, you know that?"

"Oh shut up, we're not as perfect as you are, all right?" Punk asked back.

"You're not as perfect as I am." he agreed.

"Ah, guys, ain't this living?" Chris asked, folding his hands behind his head. "Just three good buddies over the open road without a care in the world?"

"Sabin, you don't even have to say it twice, this is awesome." replied Alex. "Now, since the Bunny Ranch is quite a lengthy drive away, we need to fuel up on some goods, so let's stop at this 7-11 first."

After they pulled into the parking lot, Punk leapt out first and exclaimed, "DIBS ON THE ICE CREAM BARS!"

"I'll get the Slurpees!" Chris exclaimed.

"Ok, that leaves chips, cheese doodles, Oreos, Twinkies, Ring Dings, and all the fun stuff for me!" Alex agreed, heading inside. Right when they were out of sight, though, a red pickup truck with a crane on the back slowly backed into the parking lot and inched towards the boys' rental car.

Then, a tall, bald man wearing blue overalls exited the pickup and called back, "Yep, this is our car."

Moments later, Alex, Chris, and Punk exited the 7-11 with all of their snacks, but nearly dropped them upon seeing their rental car being hooked up to the tow truck.

"Hey, HEY!" Alex snapped, shielding the car. "Who the hell are you and what are you doing?"

"Ok, ok, relax, sir, are you the owner of this vehicle?" asked the guy.

"No, this is our rental car, it belongs to Rent-A-Car." answered Chris. "May I ask who you are?"

"My name is Matt Burch from EGA Recovery, and I'm here to repossess your vehicle, sir." he replied.

"Wait, wait, you can't do that, man, this isn't our car." Alex began, stirring up trouble. "We paid to rent it, but it's not ours."

"Ok, I understand that, but—" he began.

"No, you are NOT taking this car!" Alex cried. "This is our only ride!"

"Sir—SIR, I'm trying to be civil with you here—SIR?" Matt called over Alex's yelling voice. "Could either one of you calm him down, please?"

"Alex, dude, just let it go before he kicks our ass, all right?" Punk hissed.

He turned to him, shocked. "NO! I don't care who this guy is, he is NOT taking away our car! Sir, we're on our way to a bachelor party at the Bunny Ranch for my friend here, and how the hell are we supposed to get there without a ride?"

"Look, that's not my problem, man, all right? I'm just here to take the car from ya!" the repo man cried, getting annoyed. "Come on, we can make this easy, or we can make this difficult, now do you have the keys?"

"Matt, what the HELL is taking you so long?" a Latina woman in a black dress screeched, joining the gang.

"Sonia, I'm trying to grab the keys from this clown and he's not cooperating!" he argued.

"Hey, guys, it's ok, just take the car—" Chris began, about to hand him the keys when Alex angrily snatched them from his friend and cried, "CLOWN?! Dude, I'm gonna kick your ass for saying that!"

Mr. Burch was shoved back by the Detroit native and was now pissed off. "HEY! You want to put your hands on me again, DO YA?!" he snapped, shoving Alex back.

"YOU'RE NOT TAKING AWAY THIS CAR!" he shouted back, purposely keeping the keys from him.

"Alex, just give him the damn keys, why dontcha?!" Chris demanded, but when Alex accidentally shoved him into Sonia, she shoved Sabin back and cried, "HEY, don't you put your hands on me!"

"Wha—I never touched you!" Sabin cried in defense.

"This is a REPOSESSION!" she cried, once Alex sped out of Matt's reach and leaped onto the roof of their rental car.

"You're gonna have to take this thing with me on top, all right?!" he demanded.

"Hey, STOP IT!" Sonia screeched.

"GET offa the damn car, moron!" Matt cried, trying to pull him off, when Alex tried to kick him away.

"Shelley, stop making an ass outta yourself, just let them take the goddamn car! It's not the end of the world!" Punk snapped.

"COME OOOOONN!" Sonia yelled, holding Alex in a headlock to try and stop him.

"Ow, OW! Get your meaty arms offa me!" he snapped, trying to wriggle away from her.

"You know what, man, if you don't get the hell off of that car, I'll whip out the pepper spray, so you wanna KEEP playing with me? HUH?!" Mr. Burch demanded.

"Screw YOU!" Alex snapped.

"That's it." the repo man said before spraying the younger man in the eyes with the pepper spray.

"OH GOD!" he cried, leaping off of the car and shielding his eyes.

"Hey, now why the hell did you have to spray our friend like that?!" Punk demanded before he was sprayed in the eyes next. "OOHH!" he cried, his eyes stinging like mad.

Chris gasped and exclaimed, "Ok, you know what, you guys are just mean, ok? I—" He was sprayed next. "OW, IT BURNS!"

After the guys were left rolling around on the ground, trying to clean their burning eyes, Matt snatched the keys from Alex and climbed in their rental car. "Hahahahaha!" he laughed crazily, speeding off with the car with their red pickup truck leaving behind him.

"Ohh, what the hell just happened?" Punk asked in disbelief.

"Aww, we don't have a car anymore! How the hell am I supposed to explain this to Rent-A-Car?" Shelley demanded. "And how the hell are we supposed to get to the Bunny Ranch now?"

"Well, dudes, this is turning out to be a great bachelor party so far. Thanks a bunch." Chris sighed, rolling his eyes.

* * *

_**AN: For those of you who don't know, Matt and Sonia are from the show Operation Repo on TruTV. Thought it'd be funny to put them in a little cameo appearance in this chapter, haha.**_


	133. Chapter 133

**_AN: Only about 19 chapters left! Story's winding up soon._  
**

* * *

**Chapter 133**

After their car had been repossessed, Chris and Punk were sure that they wouldn't make it anywhere else, but Alex was still confident that he'd get his friends to their destination, no matter what.

"I can't believe those repo guys maced us, man." Alex grumbled.

"Well, technically, it was pepper spray, so—" began Punk.

"WHO CARES?!" Shelley demanded.

"Alex, you're just pissed off because you let that Sonia chick headlock you. And you were close to crying!" Chris exclaimed with an amused grin.

"Shut up, I wasn't crying! That chick was cutting off my air supply, I was tearing up cause I could barely breathe!" he explained.

"You were tearing up cause you were pepper sprayed." Punk smirked.

"Will you two just shut up so I can think about what we should do next?" Alex demanded. "Ok, so since we don't have a car, all we gotta do is come up with some other form of transportation."

"You're a genius." Punk said flatly.

"Shut up. I—" he began, seeing a car roar down the street and then getting an idea. "Hey, I got it!"

Then, he reinforced his point by jutting out his thumb and waving it back and forth, while both Sabin and Punk looked at him like he was crazy.

"What the hell are you doing?" Chris asked.

"Duh! Isn't it obvious? I'm trying to summon for a car to stop and give us a ride!" he exclaimed. "Must I explain everything?"

"So basically, we're supposed to be hitchhikers?" Punk questioned. "Dude, nobody stops for anyone anymore, especially after that movie, The Hitcher came out a few years ago."

"Oh man, that movie scared the crap outta me. Especially when that guy was suspended between those two trucks and he ended up getting ripped in half—" Sabin began.

"Oh man, that was SICK!" CM laughed.

"Hey, can we listen to Alex now?" Shelley asked. "Now come on, I'm sure someone will stop for us, because who could resist three handsome dudes like us?"

And right then and there, a white van slowed to a stop in front of them.

"See, told ya." he smiled.

Then, the window rolled down and the driver asked, "Hey, you three stranded or something?"

"Uh, yeah, you could say that." Chris said slowly.

"See, we're trying to head to the Bunny Ranch, y'know, the strip club on the other side of town for our friend's bachelor party," explained Punk. "But while we stopped at 7-11, our car uh, got repossessed and we're left without a ride."

"Yeah, and we were hoping that we could maybe…hitch a ride with you?" Alex asked. "Please?"

The guy nodded. "Sure, I'm headed in that way anyway. Just hop in the back and have a seat on the bench. Might be a little uncomfortable, but you'll get used to it." he replied.

"Alright, cool—thanks, man!" they replied, opening the back doors and taking their seats in the roomy, yet empty van.

"See, guys, what did I tell ya?" Alex smiled. "We enjoy a nice, relaxing ride, and before you know it, we'll be at our destination, a land where topless girls galore and fantasies come to reality!"

"Dude, don't you feel at least a little guilty that you're doing this without AJ knowing?" asked Chris.

"Sab, calm down. You know that I'd never do anything behind April's back, we're just out to splurge a little and have some forbidden fun. Besides, the girls are probably doing some naughty things right now as we speak." he replied.

"Ooh, like what?" Punk thought to himself. "Maybe they're in a…lingerie pillow fight, with…whipped cream and baby oil…and…"

The Guns exchanged amused looks and uttered along with him, "Ohhh…"

"That's a hot fantasy." Chris said, nodding. "Dude, that just may be even better than the Bunny Ranch!"

"Hey, as hot as that may be, NOTHING is better than the Bunny Ranch, all right?" Alex demanded. "Now, now…what the hell's playing on the radio?"

The other two quieted down once they heard the lyrics:

"_I'm not a gangster tonight_

_Don't want to be a bad guy_

_I'm just a loner, baby_

_And now you've gotten in my way_

_I can't decide_

_Whether you should live or die_

_Oh, you'll probably go to heaven_

_Please don't hang your head and cry _

_No wonder why_

_My heart feels dead inside_

_It's cold and hard and petrified_

_Lock the doors and close the blinds_

_We're going for a ride…"_

The three slowly looked at one another and exchanged scared looks, before turning to the driver who turned back to them through the little glass window and flashed them a creepy smile while nodding.

"…Kay. I feel unsafe here." Punk announced.

"Eh, it's not that bad." Alex replied with a shrug.

"_MMMM! MMMM!"_

"Did you guys hear that?" Chris asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, like a muffle." replied CM.

Alex turned to the corner of the truck, and saw a white sheet covering…something. He looked at his friends before approaching the sheet and whipping it off in curiosity. To their shock, they saw a guy tied and gagged, sitting in the fetal position and frantically muttering, "_MMMMMMM! MMMMMM!"_

Now exchanging terrified looks, the boys screamed, kicked open the back door, and leapt out of the moving vehicle, landing in the street.

* * *

Later…

"Ok, so maybe the 'Hitching A Ride with A Total Stranger' plan didn't work, but this way is safe and effective!" Alex announced with a smile.

The three were on a children's yellow school bus…with other CHILDREN. Oh, and it was the Short Bus, too. The worst kind.

"Alex, I hate you." Chris said, slowly turning to face him.

"Oh come on, it's not that bad!" Shelley cried, before their seat was kicked from behind and some boy surprised Chris with a Wet Willie.

"OH! Did you—did you just SEE that?!" Sabin cried, holding his ear. Then, he whipped around to face the kid. "Hey, you little punk, did your parents ever teach you some manners on how NOT to violate innocent people like that?! I oughta give you a spanking!"

"CHRIS, will you sit down?!" Alex snapped, pulling him down. "Now look—"

They had to duck down and dodge a flying lunchbox. He continued, "Now look at Punk over there. He looks like he's having a blast!"

They looked across the aisle to see Punk sitting with a big, sweaty kid who, well, wasn't all that pleasant to sit with.

"Punk looks like he wants to kill himself." Chris pointed out the obvious.

"Oh, no he doesn't, he looks…quite relaxed." replied Alex.

Punk grimaced and politely folded his hands, before slowly turning to the kid, who looked back at him.

"Hi there." the Superstar said after a pause.

"I like gum." the kid announced with a snort. "And cotton. My hobbies include sniffing things and reading the ingredients off of the back of peanut packages."

Punk's eyes widened and he leaned forward to silently mouth to the Guns, "Get me the HELL out of here!"

Then, when the bus turned a wide corner, everyone was sent leaning to the right, leaving the pudgy boy to lean into Punk and smash the side of his face against the window. With the unappealing scent of the boy getting into the Superstar's nostrils, CM gagged and slowly pounded on the window, hoping that it'd break open. "Help…me…" he uttered, feeling like crying.

Alex tried to cling onto the seat and called, "See, this is kinda fun—UH!" he cried once the flying lunchbox clocked him on the head, knocking him out.

* * *

Later…

Punk and Chris had requested to get off of the Short Bus from Hell, while Alex had no choice but to join them. Fortunately where the bus had dropped them off, they found one of those bicycles with three seats, so they used that as their next mode of transportation. Alex steered in front, Punk was in the middle, and Chris was all the way at the end.

"Hey why do I have to be all the way back here?" Chris whined.

"To cushion our fall." Punk smiled. "But you know guys, is it really worth it to go through all this just to head to a strip club? I think we'd be better off watching uncensored reruns of Jerry Springer."

Alex turned around for a second to glare at him. "NO, Punk, we've made it this far already, and we're sure as hell not turning back now! So everyone shut up and stop complaining."

"I wonder what the girls are up to right now." wondered Chris.

"I bet they're having one hell of a better time than we are right now." replied CM.

* * *

Meanwhile, the girls were already at the spa, cheering and whooping while Ramon, the Latin stripper was gyrating his boxer-clad body for their pleasure.

"WHOOOO!" they exclaimed, tossing money at him.

"SHAKE IT, BABY!" AJ exclaimed.

"Jeez, girlie, you act like you've never seen a stripper up close before." Mickie said, laughing.

While Ramon danced near her, she smirked and replied, "I haven't! WHOO!"

"Well, this is the most awesome bachelorette party ever—OH!" the Country Diva cried, sitting back a bit when Ramon seductively wriggled his crotch near her, and the others laughed at Mickie's expression.

* * *

Back with the boys…

"This blows." Punk concluded.

"Guys, I can't believe you. If you'd stop complaining about everything for two seconds, you'd see the positivity in this situation. Now with us on this bike, I'm sure that absolutely nothing can and will go wrong." Alex announced.

Right after he said that, a couple of thugs appeared from out of nowhere, pulled the bike from underneath them and shoved the three in some alley somewhere, before running off with the bike.

They sat up, speechless.

"Ok, this is the worst bachelor party ever!" Chris snapped, glaring at Alex.

"DON'T BLAME ME!" he cried.

Later…

Now without a bike, the three had no choice but to walk the rest of the way, and to make things worse, it suddenly began pouring rain.

The guys looked up at the sky before sighing and walking under a bridge.

"Damn you, nature." Punk announced, halfheartedly pumping a fist in the air.

"What did you say about positivity again, Alex?" Chris demanded, shooting him a look.

"Hey, don't give me that look, all right? I promised you an awesome bachelor party and damn it, that's what you're gonna get! Now we only have a few more miles to go before we get there and—" Alex began before he missed a step and tripped, falling face first into a mud puddle.

Chris and Punk helped him up while the Detroit native saw his mud-covered form and began to cry.

"Damn my life." he mumbled, his lower lip trembling. "Can somebody hold me, please?"

The boys nodded and wrapped him in a group hug.

"We're here for you, bud, stop crying and man up." Punk replied.

As they resumed walking, a near depressed Alex asked, "What if we never find this damn place?"

"Hey, YOU were the one who was so positive on finding it and now you're thinking 'what if'?" asked Sabin. "Let me sing you this song that I heard on TV once. Join in if you know the words."

"Oh, no." the two muttered.

"_Every seed turns into a flower_

_Every minute turns to an hour_

_Turn that frown upside-down_

_And there's a nice big smile_

_So…"_

Alex and Punk reluctantly joined in.

"_Never let go of hope_

_It's a lifesaving rope_

_And like a seed grows, dreams come true_

_Just because you're you!"_

"WOW, that was awkward." Punk concluded.

"It was, but…I feel enlightened." Alex announced, a smile forming on his face.

"Good! And—hey look!" Chris pointed ahead to a building up ahead, which had the words, 'BUNNY RANCH' in dim, neon lighting.

The three exchanged looks and smiled, cheering, "YEAH!-WE MADE IT!"

And after that, the boys ran to the strip club and entered the somewhat dingy looking place, and once they noticed what was inside, their smiles faded and they slowed their running to a stop.

"Where is everyone?" Punk asked.

There were only about two guys inside, and some dude sweeping up the floor in the distance.

"Where are the hot chicks?" demanded Alex.

Then, a tall guy with a mustache caught eye of the boys and joined them. "Oh, sorry boys, we just closed for the day."

"CLOSED?!" they demanded, shocked.

"Wait, wait, wait. How could you be closed? The three of us have had a very rough time trying to find this place and what, it's all for nothing?!" Chris demanded.

"Guys—"

"This isn't cool, man!" Alex snapped. "We've had to deal with our rental car being repossessed, a van ride with a serial killer, a bus ride with snotty kids, we've had our bike jacked from underneath our asses, and LOOK AT ME! I FELL in mud! Now after all that, we are NOT leaving until we get topless girls on poles!"

"YEAH!" Punk and Chris cheered along.

"Ok, well, tell you what. I don't normally do this, but I'll give you three one last private show for today." the guy announced.

"Yeah!—WOOHOO!" they cheered, high fiving one another.

"Luckily, our last stripper hasn't left yet. Oh, Diamond?" he called.

The boys grinned devilishly and took their seats by the runway while Chris muttered, "Ooh, _Diamond_…"

"I predict that her measurements will be 36-24-38." Punk replied, knuckle punching with him.

"I TOLD you guys that I'd get us to see some stripping!" Alex exclaimed. "C'mon, DIAMOND!"

And soon after that, music began and the lights dimmed when a silhouette of a busty blonde woman seductively strolled onstage.

"YEAH!"

"Take it off, let it ALL hang out!" Chris exclaimed, standing up on his chair. He was really getting excited. "Let's see some BOOBIES!"

When the woman stepped into the light, though, she suddenly looked at lot older and Chris's expression turned to absolute shock.

"Chris? Is that you?" Diamond asked with an amused smile.

"…MOM?!" he cried back, wide eyed.

Alex quickly turned the other way. "Uh oh."

* * *

**_AN: Tee hee. ;)_**


	134. Chapter 134

**Chapter 134**

At the club, Chris was in the middle of finding the shock of his life.

"MOM?! What—what are you doing here?!" he demanded, stepping down from his chair.

"So, your name's Diamond, huh?" Punk asked, clicking his tongue and winking at her.

"STOP IT!" Sabin snapped, hitting him on the arm.

"Chris, calm down. I work freelance, remember? I'm here today, gone tomorrow. I just needed the money, sweetie, and for the most part, I just HAD to get away from that lazy ass father of yours." Mrs. Sabin replied.

"But I haven't seen you in years!" Chris cried.

"Looks like it! You've certainly grown into a handsome young man, Steve." she replied.

"It's Chris." he said flatly.

"Right, right! So how old are you now, honey? 17?"

"…I'm 30." he replied slowly.

"My, MY! You've grown FAST! And who are these two handsome young men with you?" she asked.

He sighed. "Here's my friend Phil, AKA CM Punk and here's my…he's Alex."

Shelley shot him a look. "Heh heh, so you mind taking off that top for us, ma'am?" he asked her.

"Damn it, dillweed, come here!" Chris snapped, dragging Alex to the other side of the room.

"What?"

"Look, bub, I did NOT come all this way just to see my own mother take her clothes off, that's just wrong!" Sabin cried.

"Well come on, it's either watch her or leave. I pick option 1."

"Well YOU may be a desperate horndog, but at least I have some scrap of dignity! This is the worst bachelor party I've ever been to, and I want to go back home and see Mickie. I'd much rather see my fiancée strip than HER!"

"Wow, have you no faith in your own mother? She looks like she has moves!" Alex exclaimed.

As a reply, Chris slapped him across the face.

"OW! Hey, I was just trying do to something nice for ya!" he argued.

"Well, do me a favor and don't. Now, I want out of here before my eyes swell up. Let's grab Punk and let's go." Chris said as they joined him…nearly groping Mrs. Sabin! "DUDE!" Chris cried, wide eyed.

Punk saw him and quickly recoiled. "What, I was just checking if her…jugs were real, that's all!" he exclaimed.

"She's my MOTHER!" he exclaimed. "Have you no shame?!"

"Dude, you can't deny, she's kinda hot." the tattooed man replied, smirking.

"That's it, we're outta here. Mom, nice seeing you again, just wish it were under different circumstances." the Detroit native said, covering his eyes and leading his friends back out.

"Ok, hope we run into one another again, Bruce!" she called.

"_It's CHRIS!"_ he shouted from outside.

* * *

Hours later, Mickie and AJ had returned from the bachelorette party and were now back to relax in their hotel…

"Oh my God, that was sooo…much…fun." Mickie sighed happily, flopping on the bed.

"That really was! I don't think I've ever thrown more money at anyone before, but how could I resist that gyrating body just asking for it?" AJ asked, laughing.

Mickie laughed along. "AJ, listen to you! Have you already forgotten about Alex?"

"Of course not! In fact, I wish my Shelleykins was the one stripping because I would've had sex with him right then and there." the tiny Diva replied.

"You're so naughty."

"The naughtiest. So, I can't believe how many presents you got back there! You and Chris are gonna have one hell of a honeymoon!"

Mickie nodded. "I know, I love you and the girls for what you've done for me today, and y'know, I loved your present the best." she said, holding up a huge box of condoms. "The mega variety pack."

"Yeah, like I said, you're gonna have one hell of a honeymoon." AJ repeated, giggling. "Hey, you guys know where you're even going for a honeymoon?"

"Uh…we haven't thought about that, either." the Diva replied sheepishly. "Yeah, we're slow."

"Yes, you are! Come on, Micks, you don't even know when you and Chris are getting married, that's a problem!"

"Girlie, Sab and I talked about it, and all we could decide was that we should marry when it feels right. When the time comes, we'll let you know." the Country Diva replied.

And right after that, a disgruntled Chris and Alex arrived back into the room, with feathers stuck all over them. The girls looked at them, at each other, and then bursted out laughing.

"I need a hug!" Chris whined, rushing to Mickie and wrapping his arms around her while Alex and AJ did the same.

"Aww, my poor baby. Jeez, you look terrible."

"Thanks." Sabin said flatly.

"Now, I'm afraid to ask, but…why are you covered in feathers?" asked the Country Diva.

Chris glared at Alex before saying, "Well, long story short, we had a very rough day heading to my non-existent bachelor party, and since our rental car ended up getting repossessed, we had to hitch a ride with Farmer John and his chicken coop in order to get back here. Hence the feathers. Mickie, AJ, word of advice – never go along with Alex's plans, ok?"

"Oh shut up, Sabin, I did this for you!" he cried back.

"Whatever, dillhole. Mickie, after the nightmare that I've had to endure, I've decided that I don't want to wait anymore." he announced.

She gazed at him. "What do you mean?"

"I don't want to wait for us to get married any longer. In fact, let's get married tomorrow. Whaddya say?" he asked with hope.

She gasped and tried to find the words to say. "Oh—oh my gosh, Sab, are you sure?"

"More than sure. I just really want to make you my wife."

Mickie could already feel herself tearing up and replied, "And I really want to make you my husband. So where are we going and how many people are we going to invite?"

"I think we should just use our prize from Fear Factor. We still have that trip for four to Vegas and $70,000 to spend!" he exclaimed.

She lit up. "Yeah! Me, you, Alex, AJ, and we should bring along Punk and Britani, too. I guess that means two of us will have to pay, but whatever, that sounds perfect!"

"All right, then it's settled!" Sabin exclaimed, smiling. "And we'll make Alex pay for Punk and Britani, it'll make himself useful for once."

"YOU—" Alex began to charge towards him, when AJ pulled him back.

"Not now, Alex, they're having a moment!" she whispered.

"So it's official. We'll call Punk and Britani, tell them the news, and we'll be off to Vegas first thing in the morning!" Chris exclaimed, wrapping his arms around Mickie.

"Aww, I'm so happy I think I'm gonna cry." AJ said, sniffling.

"Me, too." Mickie agreed, not taking her eyes off of Chris. "I'm finally going to be a wife."


	135. Chapter 135

**Chapter 135**

The following day, the gang followed through with their plans and had ended up in Las Vegas that next evening, and it was the day that Mickie had been waiting for her entire life. In just a few moments, she was getting ready to marry the man of her dreams and the love of her life, Chris. Neither of the two could believe that this day was finally here, but with the help of their best friends, Alex, AJ, Punk, and Britani, they had fulfilled their wish of having a small, intimate wedding with only the six of them in attendance. Yes, the two would've loved having their families in attendance, too, but Chris insisted that they avoid all of the stress and just get married as quickly as possible.

Of course, Alex insisted that they get married in one of Vegas' many casinos, and AJ argued that since Mickie was the bride, that it was her choice on where she wanted to get married. After some arguing and disputing and a coin toss, here they ended up, in a church.

...

Earlier that evening, the six arrived to the church so that they could all get prepared there...

"Wow, dude, I couldn't picture you being one of those traditional church wedding guys, Sabin." Alex announced. "No actually, I couldn't picture you getting married in the first place!"

"Well, I guess there's just some things that you don't know about me, Shells." Chris smirked, grabbing Mickie's hand. "Because my mission will not be complete until I make this woman my wife."

She smiled and wrapped her arms around him in a hug, before they shared a deeply passionate kiss. "Oh, I cannot wait to make you my husband!" she squealed happily.

AJ squealed along and hopped up and down. "Aww, I am so happy for you two finally tying the knot! I always knew that you two would end up this way." she smiled.

"Took you guys long enough, anyway." added Punk with a smirk. "And as your best friends, we will do everything in our power to make sure that this wedding goes off without a hitch."

"Hmm. I trust you, Britani, and AJ, but I don't know about you, Shelley. I didn't forget about the time where you mowed down my pet squirrel-" Chris began.

"Damn it, dipwad, I said I was sorry for that!" he snapped. "Now we're here, aren't we? So thank us."

"Well, Chris and I do thank you guys for everything that you've done lately." Mickie replied. "So now that we are here, just one question."

"Yeah?" asked AJ.

"Who's marrying us?"

"Well, I called my cousin Ronnie, so he should be on his way here." replied Alex.

Chris whipped around. "Wait, your cousin Ronnie who was recently let out on bail?! HE'S officiating our wedding?!"

"Let out on bail?" asked Mickie. "What'd he do to end up in jail to begin with?"

Shelley nervously looked towards AJ and then back at the couple.

"Tell her!" the tiny Diva exclaimed, nudging him.

"Oh, this should be a good one." Punk muttered towards Britani.

"Well, Mickie, he was arrested a couple of days ago for...public streaking." Alex said quickly and mumbled.

The Country Diva's eyes bugged out as Chris disapprovingly shook his head. "Public-Chris, we're not letting this guy marry us."

"No, we're not." he agreed.

"Aw, dude, come on you've known Ronnie for years, he's a nice guy!" Alex argued. "Back me up here, baby."

"It's true, I heard that he once was a minister for one of Jennifer Lopez's weddings." AJ replied.

"Really?" Mickie asked, intrigued.

"But didn't J-Lo and Marc recently divorce?" asked Chris. "I don't want any bad curse placed on us if he marries us."

"Damn it, Sabin, there's no curse! Plus, the guy's on his way here, so you can't stop him." Alex replied.

Mickie smiled and pulled Chris closer to her. "You know babe, we've been through so much together, and I think that we're immune to any curses that could ever be brought on us. Dontcha think?" she asked, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"You're damn right, Mickie. You and I are quite the unstoppable force, both in and out of the ring." he smiled back, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Remember when we first met during training?"

"How could I forget? I couldn't stand you back then." she smirked.

_Flashback..._

_In the arena, Mickie smiled at AJ's actions, before turning to Chris, who was eying her up and down with a devilish smile playing on his lips. "Hey, gorgeous. How YOU doin?" he asked. "Chillin?"_

_She scoffed. "Great, here's another one." she muttered, crossing her arms._

_"So uh, do you ladies need this ring, cause we're just about finished here." said Alex._

_"Wait, wait, Shelley. Why don't we do the gentlemanly thing and offer to train with these two wonderful Divas." suggested Chris. "It'll give us all a chance to further our skills and..." he smirked towards Mickie. "...get to know one another."  
_

_"Well, I don't know about-" began Mickie, but AJ cut her off. _

_"OKAY!"_

_Later..._

_"...I think that the four of us will be seeing a lot more of each other." Alex told AJ. _

_In reply to that, Chris - still dizzy from Mickie tossing him halfway across the ring - flashed a crooked smile towards the Diva while she rolled her eyes. "Oh, swell." she said sarcastically. "Let's get going, AJ."_

_While she practically had to drag her away, AJ smiled and waved towards Alex. "Bye!"_

_He smiled and waved back towards her before turning to a dazed Chris. "You ok, bro?" he asked._

_"Hehheh. She was ALL over me, dude. Mickie wants me and I want some Mickie." he smiled._

_...  
_

"I seriously thought you were going to be another one of those sleazy dudes, but after spending time with you and getting to know you, you turned out to be the best thing to ever happen to me." Mickie finished, tracing a finger down his jaw line.

"See, never judge a book by its cover! You never would've guessed that I turned out to be your Prince Charming." he smiled back, kissing the tip of her nose. "I love you."

"I love you, too." she blushed, wrapping him in another kiss.

Alex chuckled and shook his head, while AJ squealed again and Britani wrapped the both of them in a hug. "Oh, bloody hell, you two are so adorable! But save all the kissing for later when you'll really need it!" she exclaimed.

"But I don't wanna stop! His lips are SOO inviting and kissable!" the Country Diva whined.

"And hers are so luscious and soft that I can't stay away!" the Detroit native agreed.

"Well, that's all nice and very sweet, but I need to know where the hell my damn cousin-" Alex began, when another voice called, "And you thought I'd be fashionably late, young Alex."

"Hey, Ronnie!" he exclaimed, sharing a hug with him. Ronnie was about 6'2, good looking, and looked like your average guy. Plus, there was the fact that he was wearing a minister's robe. "How's it been, man? Thought you were a no show."

"And why would I miss the chance to officiate the wedding of one of my good friends and his fiancée?" he asked. "And Alex, is this your girlfriend? Hello, beautiful."

"Hey, nice to meet ya." AJ smiled. "And we'd also like to introduce you to our friends CM Punk and Britani."

"Hey, how's it going?—Nice to meet you." the two said, shaking his hand.

"Nice to meet you two."

AJ continued, "So, Alex has told me a lot about you. Sorry about the streaking incident, by the way."

"That actually sounds like a lot of fun, man, how'd it happen?" asked Punk.

"Ah, it happens. Turns out that I was in my shower and ended up sleepwalking around town when the cops just happened to be there at the wrong time and-"

"Dude, can you just cut the crap and marry my fiancée and I already?" Chris asked impatiently. "This is Mickie's special day, and I don't want you to waste it by telling us about all your crimes and misdemeanors!"

Ronnie scoffed. "Well! And speaking of your fiancée, it's nice to meet you as well, beautiful."

"Thank you, it's nice to meet you, too. So how'd you become a licensed minister, anyway?" she asked.

"I went to Minister School and got my Master's degree in Ministry." he announced, as if the answer was obvious. Punk and Britani laughed.

"...Okay..." she nodded slowly.

"Yeah, I blame Alex." Chris announced.

"Oh, shut up, turdmunch! You should be thanking me for bringing him here. Most ministers charge $50 an hour for their services, but Ronnie here, he only has the small, small fee of $5.99 an hour. Now isn't that a deal that you couldn't possibly refuse?" he asked.

"Look, all I'm hearing is that Ronnie's just a big a cheapskate as you are, ok?" Chris asked flatly.

"WHY YOU-" Alex demanded, but his cousin stopped him.

"Peace, young Alex. Chris is free to think whatever he wants to think." he said.

"Ok, ok, now back to you two. Before we start anything, are you two SURE that you don't want anyone else here?" asked AJ.

"Yeah, speak now or forever hold your peace." agreed Punk. "Cause if you want anyone else, we'll have em on the first flight out here and-"

"Guys, guys, you don't have to worry! The way things are now is absolutely perfect." Mickie assured.

"Yeah, definitely. As long as you guys are here, that's all Mickie and I need." agreed Chris.

"Now on another note, we better get this wedding started because we're renting this place till midnight tonight and we have some two hours to do it." Ronnie announced.

"Yeah, we all better get fancied up! C'mon, Alex, Britani, Punk, we better leave these two lovebirds alone." AJ announced, linking arms with Britani.

"Yeah, I'm with ya. Plus, I better leave before I murder Sabin here for calling me a cheapskate." Alex agreed, glaring back at him before they headed off.

"Oh, Alex, will you stop denying what's true and just admit that you're a damn cheapskate?!" Punk demanded, leading him away.

"_NO, I WILL NOT!"_ he called from a distance.

Mickie and Chris shared a chuckle. "Ah, I love our friends." he smiled, taking her hands again.

"Life wouldn't be any fun without em! And my life wouldn't be any fun without you in it, either." she smiled back, squeezing his hands. "I still can't believe that this is finally happening to us, Sabin."

"I honestly can't believe it, either, but we're here now and I'm damn glad about it. So, uh, this is the final, last chance if you want to back out of this. Although the others would be distraught." he said.

The Diva looked surprised. "Chris, no! Why would I want to back out of this? I'm finally getting married to my one true love and I'll be damned if I don't go through with this. Do you want to back out?"

"And miss out on the chance of marrying the most beautiful woman I've ever laid eyes on? I don't think so!" he said confidently while she giggled.

"Well, good! Cause if you backed out on me, I'd have to kick your ass."

"Ah, THAT'S my feisty Mickie! Why don't you bring that fire to the bedroom later on tonight for our wedding night suaree?" he asked with a devilish gleam in his eye, roaming his hands along her curves and grabbing her ass, making her jump a little.

"Ooh, babe, don't turn me on so soon! We won't even make it to the bedroom at this rate." she smirked back. "But trust me, tonight, we will have the steamiest, hottest, most mind blowing sex that we've EVER had in our lives."

He bit his lower lip and smiled. "I don't think I can wait any longer."

Ronnie cleared his throat. "Ok, may I remind you that we're in a place of God?" he asked.

"Oh, sorry!" she chuckled nervously. After gazing into his eyes for a few moments, she continued, "Well, uh, I better get changed into my dress."

"Yeah, I better get changed, too." He gazed at her beauty again. "I love you so much."

She smiled brightly, near close to tears. "I love you so much, too." she said before they went their separate ways.


	136. Chapter 136

**Chapter 136**

Later that night...

Mickie was nearly ready to go out, but looked at herself in the mirror to make sure that every detail and accessory was absolutely perfect. She wore a white wedding gown that was off the shoulder with a spaghetti strap on her left shoulder, a white flower in her hair which was down straight, and sparkly heels. The dress hugged all of her curves perfectly, and she couldn't wait to show herself off to Chris. "Perfect." she smiled.

"Knock knock! Can we come in?" AJ asked, both she and Britani poking their heads in the room.

"Oh, hey! Sure, come in!" she smiled.

The tiny Diva gasped, seeing her best friend and then said, "Ok, now I'm gonna cry."

"Me, too." agreed Britani.

She rushed to them and asked, "Why?"

"We're just so happy for you and Chris. You guys have been through an unimaginable lot together and you two deserve to have this day to yourselves." she replied.

"Exactly, and there's the fact that my best friend and my brother are getting married in just a few minutes, and you look absolutely stunning!" agreed AJ.

"Aww, thank you! You two look pretty chic yourselves there, girlies!" she smiled in return.

"Aw, well we try." she giggled, wearing a dark purple kimono-styled mini dress with a belted waist, knee high converse heels and her hair was in a high ponytail. Britani wore a matching dark purple mini dress that ended above her knees, with black boots. "Anyways, I was talking to Alex and he told me that Chris cannot wait to see you again."

"Well, I cannot wait to see my gorgeous man again, either." she smiled. "Oh April, B, this is just the greatest day of my entire life, and it seems like everything's finally falling into place."

* * *

Meanwhile, Alex, Punk, and Chris were already fancied up and were waiting for Mickie, Britani, and AJ to arrive. Alex wore a black formal shirt, a white tie, and a black jacket along with dark jeans and converses. In the meantime, Punk wore a similar outfit to his, with a black formal shirt, a red tie, a black jacket with some red designs, along with dark jeans and dark sneakers. Finally, Chris wore an outfit extremely similar to both Alex's and Punk's, only he wore a black formal shirt with a loose collar, a loose black tie, an open black vest, along with some dark jeans and converses.

"Well, man, it's crunch time. You ready for this?" asked Alex.

"Yeah, Sabin, you realize that there's no turning back now, right?" added Punk.

He quickly nodded. "I'm nervous as hell, but I don't think I've ever been more ready for anything in my life." he agreed. "I still can't believe this is happening. I mean, I just hope that this works out for Mickie and I. Is it too soon?"

Alex playfully shoved him. "Too soon? Dude, you and Mickie for the most part, have been together 24/7. And even when you weren't together, you two couldn't keep away from one another. "

Punk agreed, "He's right, man, how much longer would you want to wait? And besides, we're happy that she's made you so happy."

Chris smiled and wrapped an arm around their shoulders. "Thanks, you guys, that means a lot to me."

"Hey, that's what best friends are for, bro." agreed Shelley.

"So, is there any possibility of marriage in your futures?" he asked.

"Way too early to ask me, dude, Britani and I only hooked up a few months ago, so marriage is a long, long journey away for the Punkster. What about you, Shelley?" asked CM.

"I...I don't know! I mean, I'm not the type to really think about marriage too much. I don't see myself as being a married guy, y'know?" replied Shelley. "But either way, I love April to death and I always will. I can honestly say that I can't picture myself with any other woman."

"But what if she thinks otherwise and wants to get married?" asked Sabin.

"Then we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. But things between us as boyfriend and girlfriend are perfectly fine the way they are now." he smiled.

Then before either of them could say anything, AJ and Britani arrived with AJ saying, "Gentlemen, may I present our beautiful bride?"

Then, Mickie arrived and stood at the end of the aisle, smiling brightly and blushing a bit once she saw Chris. "Hi, Chris!"

He stood up, and his eyes widened, amazed by her beauty. "I...I...I..."

"Is that all you can say?" she laughed.

"I'm just lost for words. God, you look unbelievably beautiful." he smiled and couldn't help but to turn a little red himself.

"Thanks. You look dashingly handsome as well." she smiled in return.

"You really do look stunning, Mickie." Alex added.

"Yeah, you look amazing." agree Punk.

"Thank you, guys." she smiled towards her friends. "So uh, Chrismeister, you ready to get married?"

"Uh, yeah! Sure-" he began, but AJ cut in and cried, "Wait, not yet! Now I'm a superstitious person, and I just want this wedding to go absolutely perfect."

"April, what are you doing?" she asked with a giggle.

"You know! Something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue! I want you to have this bow for your hair." she continued, giving her a blue medium sized bow and putting it into her hair. "It's old to me, new to you, borrowed because I used it once, and as you can see, it's blue!"

"Aww, AJ! I will treasure this forever, thank you!" she smiled, giving her a hug.

"You're welcome!"

"Ok, now are we ready to start this thing or what? We gotta be out of here by midnight, right Ronnie?" asked Alex.

"Well-" he began, when AJ whipped around and gave him a death glare. "Look, I'm not gonna try and piss off your girlfriend, ok?"

"Good, now Mickie, you also need...this!" the tiny Diva exclaimed, handing her a small bouquet.

"You have this all planned out, dontcha?" she smiled.

"I do!"

"Ok, now is that everything, because I won't have Chris waiting any longer here-" began Alex.

"WAIT!" AJ snapped. "All righty, and one final, last thing. Britani?"

"And finally, for musical accommodations..." she began, taking out a little stereo with a CD inside. Then, she pushed play, and Oasis' 'Don't Go Away' began playing. "We thought that this song would be perfect for you guys."

"Well, I guess that's our official song." Mickie smiled towards Chris as he returned the smile.

"It sure is." he agreed. She headed down the aisle while he walked towards her, saying, "You're amazing."

She linked her arm with his. "You're incredible." she complimented him back, before the two walked down the aisle together and stopped in front of Ronnie. AJ wiped away a few tears as Alex wrapped an arm around her, as Britani and Punk did the same. Before anyone could say anything, though, the song was still playing and Mickie and Chris turned to look at the four.

AJ nudged Alex. "Oh, whoops!" he cried, trying to turn the stereo off, but it kept playing. So after banging it, he had no choice but to toss it out of the front door and into the street. Shocked, everyone stared towards him. "...Sorry. Go on." he smiled nervously.

"Ok, everyone be seated." began Ronnie, as the friends took their seats in the front row. "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join this man and this woman in Holy Matrimony. Now before we begin, I must ask if anybody who has any reason as to why these two should not be wed, speak now or forever hold your peace."

Chris and Mickie looked towards their friends, when they quickly shook their heads and babbled, "NO!-Nonononono!"

The two laughed.

"Ok, now I want you two to first join hands." announced Ronnie.

They tried to, but Mickie noticed the bouquet in her hand. "Well, uh..."

"Whoopsie, I got it." AJ said quickly, taking it from her. "Continue."

"Wow, you guys." Chris said sarcastically, before he and Mickie took each other's hands.

"Ok, now I want you to repeat after me. I, Chris..." began Ronnie.

"I, Chris..." he repeated.

"Take Mickie to be my lawfully wedded wife..."

"Take Mickie to be my lawfully wedded wife..." he continued.

"To have and to hold from this day forward..."

"To have and to hold from this day forward..." he repeated.

"For richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish from this day forward..."

"For richer or for-for poorer...uh..." Chris stumbled over his words. Mickie giggled. "Sorry, just nervous."

"I figured." Ronnie replied.

"It's ok, baby, take your time." Mickie said gently.

"Ok, let's try this again. "For richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish from this day forward..." Sabin continued.

"Till death do us part."

"Till death do us part." he finished.

"Ok, and Mickie, you repeat after me. I, Mickie..." began Ronnie.

"I got this, Ron." the Diva said confidently. "I, Mickie, take Chris to be my lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward. For richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish from this day forward, till death do us part." she finished, smiling towards Chris as he smiled back and gently squeezed her hands.

"Ok, now may I have the rings?" asked Ronnie.

Then, the couple's expressions fell to surprise.

"Uh..." began Mickie. "Who has the rings?"

"I dunno. Alex, AJ?" asked Chris.

"We have the rings, right?" she asked quickly.

"Of course we do...they're right..." Shelley began, furiously looking through AJ's purse to find a small box with the rings inside. "HERE!"

"Close call, dipwad." Chris muttered.

"Shut up!" he hissed back.

"Ok, now I want you to repeat after me again: Just as this circle is without end, my love for you is limitless. Just as it is made of indestructible substance, my commitment to you will never fail. With this ring, I take you to be my partner for life." began Ronnie.

Chris gazed into her eyes and said, "Mickie Laree James, just as this circle is without end, my love for you is limitless. Just as it is made of indestructible substance, my commitment to you will never fail. With this ring, I take you to be my partner for life." he finished, slipping the sparkly ring onto her finger as a few tears streamed down her face.

"And Mickie?" asked Ronnie.

"Chris Sabin, just as this circle is without end, my love for you is limitless. Just as it is made of indestructible substance, my commitment to you will never fail. With this ring, I take you to be my partner for life." she smiled, her voice breaking as she slipped the ring onto his finger.

"And now that we've gone through the-" Ronnie began, but Mickie timidly raised her hand and said, "Uh, scuse me for a sec, but do you think that maybe I could say some of my own vows?"

"Hey, it's your wedding." he replied.

She faced Chris again and said, "Chris, there was once a time where I thought that true love never existed for me. Whoever I liked in the past had either lied, hurt, cheated on me, or all of the above. And at that point, I just decided to give up and be single. But you know what, that all changed once I saw you for the first time in that ring. Yes, you came off as arrogant, but hey, I thought that was pretty sexy, since I can come off as arrogant sometimes, too." she smirked as he chuckled. "And besides that, you've managed to bring fun into my life, Sabin, you've taught me to laugh again and enjoy new things. You've really changed my life for the better. There was once a time where you literally saved my life and nothing I could ever do or say could express the gratitude that I feel for you. You are my best friend and my truest love of all, Chris, and I wouldn't trade you for anyone in the world. I love you, I always have loved you, I always will love you, and that's forever and a day." she finished, smiling. For probably the first time, he really teared up and returned a genuine smile back to her.

"Uh, wow, sorry I'm tearing up here." he chuckled, while Mickie wiped his tears away. "Mickie, where do I even begin? I don't think there are any words that I can say that can describe the intensity of my love for you. But I'll give it my best shot. When I first saw you approach the ring, I wasn't just looking at a hot body and a gorgeous face. I was looking at the woman that I knew that I'd call my wife someday. You've had to deal with my B.S. sometimes and I always wondered what you saw in me to stay with me, and for that reason alone, I loved you even more. I'm glad I made you see the fun side of life again, Mickie, because my only job is to make you happy. And all I want is to wake up every morning next to you, and the first thing that I see is your beautiful smile and the first thing that I hear is your beautiful laugh. And from this day on, Mickie, I promise that I'll continue being the best husband I can for a woman who has given me more than I deserved. You're my best friend too, and I love you, I love you so much." he finished, as Mickie smiled back and more tears streamed down her face while he wiped them away.

"Well, then, now that you two have given yourselves to one another, and have exchanged rings, there's nothing more to be done. By the power invested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife! Take it away!" exclaimed Ronnie.

The two grinned the biggest smiles of their lives before they leaned in and shared the most passionate kiss they've ever shared.

"EEE!" AJ and Britani cried quietly, wiping away their tears. Then, both Alex and Punk sneaked to the back of the church, where Shelley called, "THEY DID IT!"

"WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" all of their friends from both WWE and TNA cheered, bombarding the church. Surprised, Mickie and Chris turned their heads to see everyone cheering for them.

"WHOOO!" Ronnie cheered along, running like a happy moron into the crowd with his arms outstretched.

The two laughed, and resumed kissing.

"MAZEL TOV!" cheered Alex, and while Chris was still making out with her, he signaled the 'rock on' sign with his fingers towards them.

* * *

Later on, they decided to have a reception there, too. There was the usual - music, drinks, the works, and when Mickie tossed back the bouquet, AJ just happened to catch it. And of course, when Chris slipped Mickie's garter belt from off of her leg and tossed it towards the guys, Alex just happened to catch it, too. Coincidence, much?

"Oh, Alex?" the tiny Diva smiled, holding her bouquet.

"Oh, April?" he smiled back. "Don't say it."

"You caught the belt and I caught the bouquet. You know what this means, dont'cha?" she asked playfully.

He turned to her. "It means that I'm not yet ready for marriage, but I am ready and willing to love you forever." he replied, taking her hands.

The Diva smiled. "Shells!" she exclaimed, giving him a kiss. "For the record, I'm not ready for marriage anytime soon, either. All I want is to be with you."

"And that's all I want, too, my Geek Goddess, and I promise it'll stay that way." he kept smiling, wrapping his arms around her waist.

She smiled up at him before they kissed again. "Aww, look at our newlyweds!"

He nodded. "Congrats, you two. It's been a long time in the making." he said, looking their way.

The two saw Chris and Mickie stepping over to a secluded place, still making out. "It's finally happened, husband." she smiled.

"Indeed it has, wife. So now that we're married, whaddya say we begin our wedding night a little early?" he asked with a devilish gleam in his eyes.

She smiled seductively. "I thought you'd never ask. But first…" she began, kissing him once more for good measure. "Let's begin looking forward towards the rest of our lives together, why don't we?"

He smiled in reply. "I couldn't have said it any better myself, beautiful."


	137. Chapter 137

**Chapter 137**

The rest of January pretty much flew by and it went very smoothly for the Guns, as Chris and Mickie were really enjoying married life and were pretty much inseparable, rarely being seen without the other. Alex and April both couldn't stop thinking about the fact that she had caught the bouquet at their wedding and he'd caught the garter belt, so apparently they were 'destined' to be married sometime in the near future. AJ was superstitious, so she believed that it'd happen, but Alex on the other hand, well…he wasn't so sure. He was happy with her just being his girlfriend, after all. Now it was early February, and Johnny Laurinitis was still furious that his stable was getting absolutely nowhere in their quest to eliminate the Guns. Now, the angry GM was in his office…

He scribbled something down on a piece of paper and then slammed down his pencil. "Damn them. Damn them all!" he exclaimed as Otunga handed him another coffee, which Johnny sipped once and then threw against the wall. "My two most dangerous men are in jail, my attempts to bail them out haven't worked, and those Guns are STILL on top of the game! What the hell is happening to my alliance, David? We used to be such a force to be reckoned with, and now? Everything's falling apart!"

Not long after he said that, Chris Jericho knocked on the door with a none-too-happy look on his face.

Johnny lit up. "Chris Jericho! Long time no see! I uh, actually haven't seen you since our plans with Dave. Where've you been?"

"Oh, I've been around, just haven't decided to come in here because I don't want anything to do with you anymore." he announced, to the GM's shock.

"Excuse me?!"

"You heard me. That plan you had to have Dave kidnap Mickie and Velvet and try to kill them was just too much. I had to stop Dave before either of those girls were hurt." the Canadian replied.

"YOU stopped him? Jericho, how could you? This was your plan to begin with!"

"Yeah, well, I backed out of it and stopped it before anyone got killed. Anyway, I'm here because I want out of your alliance." Jericho replied.

"Chris, no. No, you can't leave, you're the WWE Champion, you're the strongest and most powerful guy I have left! Come on, man!"

"I don't care. I'm already the Champion, so I can get whatever the hell I want and I'm only being held back by you. I gotta go, I got things to do. Later." the blonde smirked, heading out.

Johnny was left standing in disbelief before angrily kicking over a trash can. "That's IT! That's it, it looks like I have to take matters in my own hands. I'm taking out those Guns myself."

Once he was headed for the door, Eve arrived first crying, "Johnny, Johnny, I want to help you. I know how everyone's been walking out on you lately and—"

"Move out of my way, Eve." he said, shoving her aside, but once he stepped into the hall, he was face-to-face with AJ's father, Antonio. How he even got there or found the place, who knows. "Can I help you?"

"Yes, you may not know me, but my name is Antonio, I'm a close associate with Alberto Del Rio, one of your…followers, I should say."

"Oh, are you now?"

"Yes, and I also just happen to be AJ's father."

A smirk grew across Johnny's face. "Really? What are you doing here?"

"You see, I have a huge problem with that punk boyfriend of hers, Alex Shelley, you may know him."

"Yeah, I know him. And I've been trying to get rid of him and his friends."

"Ah, then I guess we are on the same side. Look, I just came to do some business with you. That punk has been trying to steal my daughter away from me and he is nothing but a disrespectful bastard! I want him out of her life and I want him out for good! And I think if you and I work together, we can make that possible." replied Antonio.

"Well, sir, that just may have been the best news I've gotten all day. Happy to do business with ya." he said, shaking his hand. "Now why don't you step into my office and we can discuss the day away, shall we?"

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the Guns' hotel, Chris was still in bed 'sleeping', but in reality, he was too pissed off to get out of bed, and his friends knew exactly why…

"He's been in there all morning and it's nearly noon. Is he ever gonna climb outta bed?" asked AJ, as the three of them were in the living room.

"Well, as long as today is February 4th, then I doubt it." replied Alex. "Today's the man's birthday, I can't believe he's not excited about it!"

Mickie sighed. "He's just upset about turning another year older, so he FEELS older. Chris is only 31, I don't see what the big deal is!"

"Well, ladies, I say we go and there and figure him out. C'mon." replied Shelley.

Once they entered the room, they found Sabin huddled under the covers, facing the wall with a pissed off look on his face.

"Sabin, come on, stop being a wuss and get the hell up." Alex said, shaking him.

He didn't reply.

"NOW!" he snapped, slapping him on the side with more force.

He grumbled something and burrowed himself even further under his blanket.

"Alex!" AJ scolded him. "Violence isn't going to help. Sensitivity is. Hey, Chris, bro? It's me, AJ. Now, I know that you're upset about today, but turning 31 isn't bad at all! There's no reason to be so upset—are you even listening to me?"

No reply.

"Hmph!" the Diva scoffed, crossing her arms and turning around. "How rude!"

"Guys, guys, let the wife handle this?" Mickie assured them, before kneeling down next to her distraught hubby. "Chris? Hun, I know you hate it when your birthday comes, but turning 31 is not bad at all. Can't you just talk to us and tell us what's bothering you? Please?" she smiled.

He gazed at his new wife and sighed, finally sitting up. "I know I'm not supposed to be feeling midlife crisis for the next 10 years or so, but…I dunno, I just can't believe that I'm already 31! It feels like just yesterday that I was 17 and living it up in my youth, but now…31? I'm so old." he pouted, crossing his arms.

"Sab, you're not even close to being old, you're overreacting!" Mickie exclaimed.

"No, I'm not."

"Ooh, is that a…gray hair growing on your head?" Alex asked, purposely trying to piss him off.

"UGH!" he groaned, hiding himself over the covers again.

AJ and Mickie glared at Alex and simultaneously hit him.

"Ow! What was that for, I was just trying to mess with him!"

"Stop making things worse, Shells, we're just trying to make Chris feel better about himself." replied AJ. "Chris, you're not old. Alex is only two years younger than you are, and I'm only six years younger!"

"Which makes me still older than you two." Sabin muttered.

"But I'M the oldest out of the group, hun, I'm 34! And do you see me complaining about my age?" asked Mickie.

"Of course not, but that's cause you still look young and beautiful! You could be 18 and I wouldn't tell the difference."

"Aww, that's sweet," she began, giving him a kiss. "But you gotta stop beating yourself up about your birthday."

"She's right, Sab. This is a time to celebrate, and today, we're going to treat you to a great day out!" Alex exclaimed.

"I say we head to Disneyland!" exclaimed AJ.

"Heh?" Shelley cried.

"Disneyland?" Chris said, lighting up.

"Yeah! Chris, if you want to feel young again, then Disneyland is the place to go!" she explained.

"AJ's right, I say we head there for the day, and after we go there, you'll forget all about turning 31. How about it?" Mickie asked, smiling.

For the first time that day, Sabin smiled as well. "Will…will we even get to go on the little teacup ride?" he said innocently.

"We sure will!" she laughed.

"Wait, wait, who the hell's paying for this?" Alex cried.

"All right, it's a deal. I want to go to Disneyland!" Chris exclaimed.

"Yay!" the girls cheered.

"Whoa, WHOA!" Shelley cried. "Who is paying for this? That place is expensive as hell!"

They all looked at him. "You're paying." they said at once.

Defeated, he tossed his arms in the air and stormed out of the room. "Of course it's gotta be FREAKIN' me! COME ON!" he shouted from a distance.

After the three laughed, Mickie told her husband, "Don't worry about a thing, Chris, you're going to have the best birthday of your life, trust me."

"Yay, I'm special." he beamed.

* * *

Since the Raw crew was currently staying in California, Disneyland wasn't too far away, so the Guns had no problem getting there. Alex, on the other hand was the one who was pissed off for paying at first, but after a little…extra attention from AJ, he was his happy, sexy self again. After about 45 minutes of driving, the gang finally made it there.

"WE'RE GOIN TO DISNEYLAND, YEAH!" Chris cheered, running through the front gates first, the others tagging behind him.

"Dude, we're not _going_ to Disneyland, we're already here." replied Shelley.

"Don't correct me in the Happiest Place on Earth, ok dillhole? So, what do we do first?" he asked.

"Whatever you want to do, Chris, it's your birthday." replied AJ with a smile.

"Hmm…well, I've always wanted to get one of those little Mickey Mouse hats that the little kids get to wear." he announced.

Alex stifled his laughter, when AJ nudged him. "Er—uh, ok, let's go."

They soon arrived to a nearby concession stand, and when Chris was about to grab the last hat and a mouse-shaped balloon, a group of kids rushed past him, practically ran him over, and headed to where this huge crowd was.

"Chris! Babe, you all right?" Mickie asked, while she and AJ helped him up.

He frowned and realized something. "Aww, they popped my special balloon and stepped over my hat."

"What the hell was with those kids, anyway? Why don't they watch where they're going?" demanded April. "And where's Alex?"

"Oh man, guys, there's a huge street fight going on between Pluto and Donald, you gotta check it out!" the Detroit native exclaimed, joining them. "Hey, what the hell happened to you, Sab?"

He grumbled. "Forget it! Let's just head somewhere else."

"Don't worry, babe, you're still going to have a great day, c'mon." Mickie said with a smile, taking his hand.

Meanwhile, AJ checked her phone to find a new text from her father. She groaned.

"Hey, babe, what's wrong?" asked Alex.

"Got another text from him."

He stopped. "Again? April, ever since New Year's, this guy's been texting you and sending you these horrible messages. If you don't do anything about him, I will."

"Alex, no. Trust me, ignoring him and his calls is the best solution, that way we won't be intimidated by him and if I don't reply, he'll finally get the message and back off." the tiny Diva replied. "Understand?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I guess so. But what I wouldn't do just to get my hands on the unsympathetic bastard…" he sighed.

AJ wrapped her arms around him in a hug. "Just forget about him, Shells. We don't need him. Now c'mon, let's go celebrate our best friend's birthday and have a good time here, all right?"

He grabbed her hand, smiling. "Race ya to Magic Mountain!"

"HEY!" she laughed, being pulled off.

* * *

Later that day, the Guns were in line, waiting for another ride.

"I'm so bored." Alex said, crossing his arms. "We've been waiting on this long-ass line for like, 3 hours."

"We've been waiting for 3 minutes, dude." Chris said flatly. "Now come on, this ride's supposed to be the best and we're almost at the front of the line, anyway!"

Then, AJ gasped. "Look, it's Minnie Mouse!"

The gang and everyone on line cheered when the costumed worker came to greet everyone, and hugged a few kids.

"AJ, girlie, aren't you a little old to get excited about someone in a mouse costume?" asked Mickie with a laugh. Well, there was someone a few years older than AJ who was even more excited.

"MINNIE!" Chris exclaimed, leaning over the crowd barrier. "Over here, I love you SOOOOO much!"

Minnie high fived a few people in line before tousling Chris's hair and giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"See, Mickie, Minnie likes me." Sabin said, wrapping an arm around her.

"You're such a wuss." Alex laughed.

But there was a kid next to Chris who missed out on a high five from Minnie. "Yo, mouse!" he called. "MOUSE!"

Minnie didn't hear the kid and turned around, when the kid grabbed ahold of her tail and pulled it off, laughing.

Sabin gasped, shocked and appalled. "Hey, kid," he began, snatching the ripped tail from him. "You do NOT yank off Minnie Mouse's tail, how dare you?!"

"Chris, c'mon, stay out of it!" Alex warned him.

It was too late for the warning, though, as Minnie had felt her tail being pulled off and found it in Chris's hand. "Hey, buddy, you do NOT yank off my tail!" the costumed worker said in a strangely masculine voice.

"Yeah, I know!" Chris exclaimed, pointing at the little boy. "This kid's the one who—"

Minnie decided not to wait for Chris's explanation. "How would YOU like it if I yanked off YOUR tail? HUH?" she cried, spanking the Detroit native. "You like that?!"

He paused. "Strangely enough, I do. But come on, Minnie, stop it, I'm being violated!" he cried, poking her back. "Why don't you just cool it?"

"Hey, don't you push me! Come here!" she cried, grabbing his arm and yanking him off of the line, tossing him to the ground while Mickie and AJ gasped in shock. "YEAH! Who's the tough guy now, huh?" she demanded, kneeling on Sabin's back while the crowd was going wild.

"Why, Minnie, WHY?!" Chris cried, trying to crawl from out of the mouse's reach. "Come on, it's my birthday!"

"Chris! Oh, we gotta do something!" exclaimed Mickie.

"Chris brought this onto himself, ok? Let him get out of it on his own." replied Shelley.

Then, the kid who got Chris in trouble in the first place called, "HELP, he's hurting Minnie Mouse!"

Chris was still being attacked. "Does it LOOK like I'm hurting her?!"

"Security!" someone called, before about five of them came to break up the fight.

"All right, that's it. Get off Minnie Mouse!" one of them said, pulling him up.

"Yeah, get him off of me, he attacked me!" the costumed worker replied.

"WHAT?! You're just a big, fat liar! You're the one who dragged me out here!" he snapped.

"Look, you mess with the mouse, you go to the back of the line!" another officer exclaimed, to Chris's disbelief.

"_WHAT?! _No, no, I'm innocent, Alex, Mickie, AJ, help!" he cried, being ushered away. _"Come on, it's my birthday…!"_

"Chris, CHRIS!" Mickie called. "Guys, what do we do?"

"WE are staying on line, we have absolutely NOTHING to do with any of this." Shelley replied for the officer that was eying him down suspiciously.


	138. Chapter 138

**Chapter 138**

Later, the friends were still trying to make Chris's birthday a great one. Well, sadly, 'great' wasn't the word to describe how the rest of the day went…

"WOOO!—HOO HOO HOO HOO!" the Guns cheered, now twirling around and around on the teacup ride. Alex was the only one who looked bored and crossed his arms the entire time.

"Hey Alex, what's going on with you, isn't this fun?" AJ asked her boyfriend.

"I want to go on a roller coaster, this is a baby ride!" he complained.

"What makes you say that?"

He gestured to the other teacups, which consisted of mainly 5 and 6 year olds and their parents. "Plus, this ride isn't nearly as extreme as the last one we went on."

"Stop being a killjoy, Shelley, this is the one ride that I haven't had some scrap of bad luck on. I nearly got killed over that damned roller coaster."

"Well, it's not MY fault that your safety bar flew up in mid-ride, jeez! But either way, I'm taking a nap. Wake me up when the ride's over." he replied.

"Oh come on, man, don't fall asleep now, we didn't even get to the spinny part yet—" Sabin began, leaning over towards his friend, but when the ride jerked back suddenly, he stumbled and fell out of the teacup and off of the ride altogether. "Ah, DAMN IT!" he cried from a distance.

Mickie gasped. "Chris, baby, are you all right? Speak to me!" she called.

"…Am I having fun yet?" he muttered.

"Well, guys, time for plan uh, C!" announced AJ.

* * *

Later…

The gang was in this birthday room that was meant for toddlers, but for Chris's sake, they had to go there.

"Ok, Sab, we said that we'd make your birthday a special one, so now we're here sitting in this ball pit because this is the safest place where you could possibly be without getting hurt whatsoever." explained Alex.

"Heh heh…balls." Chris chuckled, looking around himself. "Well, this ain't half bad. Reminds me of when I was a kid."

"Hey, look what I can do!" AJ exclaimed, juggling four of the balls. "Now…with one hand!"

"Whoa—awesome!"

"Wow, babe, I never knew that you could juggle!" Shelley exclaimed, impressed.

"I learned from my brother years ago." she smiled.

"I've always wanted to do that. Can I try?" Mickie asked.

"Sure, go for it!"

The Diva attempted to juggle, but one of the balls ended up accidentally hitting Chris in the eye…

"OW!"

…while another flew right into his mouth.

"MMMMMM! MMMMMM!" he cried, trying to breathe.

Mickie gasped and held her hands to her mouth. "Oh my God, baby, I'm SO, so sorry!"

"Hold on, hold on." Alex said, performing the Heimlich maneuver on his friend, causing him to shoot the ball from out of his mouth. "There you go, buddy, breathe. Dr. Alex has spared your life."

He was breathing heavily, trying to get over the fact that he nearly choked to death over a plastic ball. "Oh…oh, God…"

"Chris, are you all right, bro?" asked AJ.

"Baby, it was an accident, I never meant to hurt you." Mickie said, giving him a hug.

"It-It's ok. This is still the worst birthday I've ever had, but I'm ok." Sabin replied, nodding. "God, I think I just saw my life flashing before my eyes…oh man, so THAT'S why my brother left home to join the circus…"

Once he began to have flashbacks, the other three exchanged looks.

"Plan D." they said at once.

* * *

Later, the four headed to Aquarium of the Pacific that was only a few blocks away from the amusement park, hoping that nothing bad could happen to Chris over there…

"Ok, Chris, here at the aquarium, there are animals behind GLASS, so there's no possible way whatsoever that you could get yourself hurt over here, all right?" asked AJ.

Mickie grabbed Sabin's arm while he replied, "I doubt that. I nearly got maimed by a plastic ball, I'm sure a shark will eat me sooner or later."

"Wow, that—that was dark." Alex replied, shocked. "Come on man, you only celebrate turning 31 once, so instead of sulking around, try to enjoy today cause I'm never paying for our admission ever again."

"Alex is right, babe, we're doing everything that we can to make this birthday special for you, but you have to help us out a little, too." Mickie agreed.

He gazed at her and smiled. "Ah, I _have _been acting like a grouch lately, huh?"

"YES." they replied at once.

"Ok, ok," he chuckled. "Besides, this place _does _remind me of Petland, so I think I'll like it here."

"Awesome, let's go an check out the fishies!" Mickie exclaimed, leading him away.

Meanwhile, AJ felt her phone vibrating once again, but before she could answer it, Alex's hand lightly touched hers. She looked up at him.

"April, you can't keep doing this. We know that he's not going to leave you alone, so there's no point in reading his texts every five minutes."

"I just can't help it, Alex. He's haunting me! Do you know I have like, at least 60 texts from him…oh whoops, 61." she said with a sigh. "Ever since New Year's, I couldn't get that one message from him out of my head. The one where he practically threatened you. Alex, if he ever did anything to you…"

He calmed her down by wrapping his arms around her small frame. "Hey, hey, calm down, baby. He's not gonna do anything to me because I won't let him. And I sure as hell won't let him keep bothering you." he replied, taking her phone and shutting it off. "Now, I don't want you looking at this thing again for a while, ok? Once he sees that you're ignoring him, he'll back off."

The Diva smiled and nodded, placing the phone back in her purse. "You're right, Alex. I've been too hung up on him and his empty threats, I guess. Thanks for talking some sense into me."

"Hey, that's what sexy boyfriends are for." he smiled back, leaning down to give her a kiss.

"Guys, come on!" Mickie said, joining them. "Why aren't you here watching the fishes with us?"

"Oh sorry, we were just talking about…him." replied AJ.

"Oh, you mean, your crazy father?" she asked back. "April, did he say anything else to hurt either of you guys?"

"Just the same old crap, nothing new. But with Alex's help, I've decided to ignore him and not let him get to me anymore." she smiled.

In the background, Chris was curiously looking inside of the huge fish tank, and once he saw a nicely colored fish, he felt the need to pet it. So he grabbed a step stool and climbed above the glass wall, trying to reach inside of the water.

"Oh, sweetie, I just wish I were with you guys when you first learned that your father was a prejudiced jerk." Mickie told AJ. "I just wish I were there to help you through it."

"Hey, forget it. What's done is done, and you're here to help me now. So, nothing horrible happened to your husband yet, did it?" the tiny Diva asked, smiling.

"Not at all, things are going great." she smiled back, while in the background, Chris was leaning in just a little too much and ended up falling into the fish tank. The other three didn't even notice when he banged on the glass, trying to catch their attention.

"I still can't get over the fact that I have a husband now, y'know?" Mickie continued, totally unaware of what was going on behind her. "I've never been so happy before."

"Hey, sis, we're happy for ya. Maybe now you can change Chris into being useful for once in his life!" Alex chuckled.

In the fish tank, Chris was still trying to crawl back out, but once he saw a 15ft squid heading his way, his eyes widened and he swam for his life.

"So where is our birthday boy, anyway?" Shelley asked, looking around.

At first the three had seen no sign of him, until he swam by again and started banging on the glass again.

Mickie whipped around and her eyes widened. "Oh, my GOD!"

The three rushed to him and helped him out of the tank, right before the squid came again.

Alex chuckled. "How the hell did you end up in there, dillhole?"

Chris coughed a few times while Mickie wrapped her jacket around his shoulders. "It's not FUNNY, smartass! I was leaning over the tank to pet a fish, that's all I wanted to do, and suddenly I fall in and almost become squid chow!" he cried angrily. "I've had enough, I want to go back home. I'd have a better time making chocolate pudding at 4 am."

"Aw, Chris, come on, don't be this way!" AJ exclaimed, stopping him. "Look, I know that things haven't gone the way you wanted since we got here, but we just want you to be happy for your birthday!"

"This is the worst birthday I've ever had!" he argued.

"Dude, today hasn't been the most perfect day, I get that, but we aren't leaving here until you have a damn smile on your face. Plus, I paid too much for us to leave without lifelong memories, so—so SMILE, damn it!" Alex cried.

"They're right, Chris, just listen to me." Mickie said, taking his hands. "We have just one more thing planned for you, and we hope that you'll love it. Please, just trust us on this and give us a chance. Please."

He smiled, looking down at the Diva. "I never could say no to you, Wife. Ok, ok, guys, ONE more place and that's it. If my life is in danger just one more time, though, I'm out."

"Yay—all right, let's go!" they said, leading him out.

* * *

That evening, the Guns had arrived at Cinderella's Castle for the last part of Chris's birthday 'bash'…

"See, isn't this place beautiful?" Mickie announced, looking around the place. "If we had enough money, we could live here!"

"A castle is only perfect for a queen like you." Sabin replied, giving her a kiss.

"Aww, lovebirds." Alex smiled. "Oh, here's our table. See, we even had it reserved just for you, Sab."

"Wow! Aw, look at this!" he exclaimed, picking up a sign that said, 'Happy Birthday, Chrismeister'.

"See, bro, we told you that things would eventually go perfectly." AJ said, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"Exactly, and if that wasn't impressive enough, take a look at…" Alex began, once two waiters brung a HUGE guitar shaped cake to their table. Chris lit up.

"Ta da!" the three exclaimed.

"Oh, wow! Guys…I'm—I'm speechless." he chuckled.

"Try 'thank you'." Alex said, earning a nudge in the ribs by AJ.

"No, no, I really do thank you guys. For throwing me this whole party and for putting up with my bad attitude. I—oh, I just wanna hug each and every one of ya!" he exclaimed, doing just that.

"Ok, ok, babe, now why don't you get ready to blow out the candles and make a wish!" Mickie exclaimed.

"Okay!" he exclaimed, while the waiter used a lighter to light up the 31 candles on the cake. Before he could blow them out, though, the flames began getting out of control, and they burned down the candles before setting fire to the cake!

Chris looked on in absolute shock while the others gasped and jumped back about a mile.

"OH! NO, NO, NO!" Alex cried, grabbing a pitcher of water and dousing out the flames. All that was left was a charred plate and some traces of melted cake. "…Got it."

"Oh, no…Chris?" AJ asked slowly.

No reply.

"Babe, why don't we just forget all this and have store-bought cupcakes at home, ok?" Mickie asked, roaming a hand up and down Chris's back.

He slowly swiped up a trace of the cake and tasted it. "…It was chocolate-vanilla. My favorite."

"I know, hun, I know…" she said, kissing him on the cheek.

"So uh, how you feeling now?" asked Alex.

He shrugged. "I don't blame it so much for happening, as I blame myself for not anticipating it. Can we just go home how so that I can forget this trainwreck of a birthday?" asked Sabin.

"Ok, ok, we'll leave. But you know…the day's not over and as soon as we get home, I can perform my wifely duties and give you what you want in bed…" Mickie said seductively. "I'll give you the greatest birthday present ever."

The Detroit native smiled. "Now _that_, I know cannot go wrong whatsoever! C'mon, let's get going, shall we?" he said, grabbing her hand.

Once they all headed out, AJ hung back a bit, still concerned about her father's threats. She knew that Alex had warned her not to look at her phone again, but curiosity got the best of her once she turned on her phone and saw that she had yet another message from him. Sighing, she decided to check it out, and what she read made her jaw drop.

"April! What's going on, we're leaving—" Alex began, sighing once he saw that she had out her phone again. "Babe…"

"'_I know you're ignoring my other messages, dear daughter, but I doubt you will ignore this – you stay away from Shelley, and your mother won't suffer for it.'_" she read shakily, once Alex's eyes widened a little.

"What?" he uttered. "Oh, so now he's targeting your mom? His own wife? April, this guy's a sick freak, we have to do something about him."

She slammed closed her phone and dropped it in her purse. Without saying a word, the Diva sighed, grabbed her boyfriend's hand, and finally said in a low tone, "Let's just go."


	139. Chapter 139

**_AN: Gonna try and post two chapters from here on, so we can speed things up here a bit. Story's almost over anyway._  
**

* * *

**Chapter 139**

After AJ had gotten the chilling text from her father that threatened her mother next, she spent the rest of the month calling her mother nonstop, just to make sure that she was all right. AJ also realized that the nonstop texts from her father had finally stopped, and she was feeling quite better…for now.

Now, it was a regular day for the Guns, and they were killing time by playing a nice competitive game of basketball at the park.

Mickie had the ball and dribbled towards the net, but was blocked by both Alex and AJ.

"Come on, Micks, just give up that ball, there's no way you're making this shot!" Alex exclaimed.

"Uh, says YOU!" she exclaimed, passing the ball over their heads to Chris, who dribbled and made an easy jumpshot into the net.

"BOOM! Guys, come on it's 5-0, where the hell did you two learn how to play?" Chris asked, smirking.

"Oh shut up, Chris, we're too short to play this game!" AJ said, chuckling.

"Mickie and I are short too, and we're still beating you 5-zippo." he replied.

"Oh yeah?" began Alex. "Well—well-GIMME that!" he snapped, snatching his ball, running with it, and shooting, only for the ball to bounce off of the rim and bounce directly back, hitting him on the head. "OW!"

Chris and Mickie laughed.

"Dude, that was traveling!" Mickie exclaimed. "I'm no basketball expert, but I know that you can't just pick up the ball and run with it!"

"Plus, that was the funniest jumpshot/headbump I've ever seen." agreed Chris.

"Oh leave me alone! See, this is why I'm not with the NBA, all right?" Alex said, pouting. He then tried spinning the ball on his finger, but it ended up flying into the woods instead. "UGH!"

"Aw, Shells, don't listen to em, we both tried our best." AJ said. "Besides, we can both beat em in our own special field – video games…"

He smiled. "Yeah, you're right! Ok, Mickie, Chris, we're not mad at you anymore. Who's up for another inning?"

Chris laughed again. "Inning? That's baseball!"

"Oh, uh, whatever, just pass me the ball."

"Guys, this is gonna have to be the last round, cause we gotta head to the arena for Raw in a few minutes." Mickie announced.

AJ nodded and then stepped aside for a moment.

"April, you gonna play? I need my partner!" Alex called.

"Yeah, just a sec, I'm getting a drink!" she called back. When she was about to grab a water, her cell began vibrating. "Oh no, this better not be from—Cristian? Oh yay, I wonder what he wants." she smiled. "Hey Cris, what's up?"

_"Uh, April, I—I have some bad news. You have to get to the hospital right away."_

Her expression turned serious. "Oh my God, what happened?"

"…_M-Mom's hurt." he uttered._

Right then and there, AJ's heart sank and she gasped. "W-What?" she uttered, capturing the attention of her friends.

"_Yeah, she told me that dad was the one who attacked her."_

Trying not to cry, she replied, "Oh, that son of a—Ok, Is she all right? What'd he do to her?"

"_She's not in any critical condition or anything, but she's still a little roughed up. You just gotta get here as soon as you can. We're in the hospital back in Jersey, you know what hospital I'm talking about, right?"_

She nodded. "Yeah, tell her I'm on my way." she said, quickly hanging up the phone.

Alex, Chris, and Mickie approached her.

"Hey, April, what's going on, you were sounding pretty freaked out." Alex said.

She sniffled. "My bastard father landed my mother in the hospital." she announced, while the others gasped.

"What?" Mickie exclaimed.

"Is she all right?" asked Chris.

"She'll be all right, but I gotta get back to Jersey to see her." she said, quickly grabbing her things.

"Hey, babe, I'll come with you, I want to make sure Lisa's all right, too." agreed Alex, grabbing his things.

"Okay."

"Hey, we'll come with you too if you want." said Mickie.

"Thanks, guys, but you gotta go to Raw and cover for us, all right? We should be back before the show's over, hopefully, but this is more important." replied the tiny Diva.

"Ok, sis, we'll tell anyone who asks that you guys'll be late. Be careful out there, ok?" asked Chris, giving her a hug.

"Yeah, thanks." she replied. "Ok, let's go, Alex."

"All right. I'm sure she's going to be fine, babe, don't worry." Shelley replied, wrapping an arm around her.

"I just can't believe this is happening right now." she uttered, leaning into her boyfriend.

* * *

A little later, Mickie and Chris arrived to the arena that Raw was to be held in that night, while AJ and Alex were on their flight to New Jersey. Now, the couple were in their locker room, getting ready for the show.

Mickie was silently combing her hair and looking at herself in the mirror, before she saw Chris approach her from behind and wrap his arms around her waist.

"Hey, wife, you feeling all right?" he asked, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"Yeah, I will be. The room just feels so empty without our partners in crime, though."

"Sure does." he agreed, looking around the empty room. "I just hope that things are all right with AJ and her mother."

"Me, too. I just wonder why her father has to be so cruel. When you guys told me he was doing all this stuff just because he didn't want AJ to be with Alex, I was shocked. And now that they're still together, he has the need to attack his own wife to send them a message? How sick is this guy?" she asked, turning to face her husband.

Chris shrugged. "He's a cruel bastard, that's the only way I can put it. But all we can do is wait for them to come back and tell us how things went, while we have to go on with the show."

"Yep. Well, I'm glad that we don't ever have to worry about meddlesome parents, right?" Mickie smiled, running her fingers through his hair.

"Yeah, I've lost contact with mine and yours treat me like I'm one of their own, which is a shock, cause I never would've thought that they'd take in a meddlesome punk like me." Sabin said with a chuckle.

"Well, you're MY meddlesome punk, so that's all that matters." the Country Diva replied, leaning in to give him a passionate kiss.

Before they could do or say anything else, there was a knock on the door and Eve poked her head in, smirking.

They turned to her.

"Oh crap, the whore's here." Chris muttered. "What do you want from us?"

She frowned. "Ok, I'm gonna ignore that comment. Look, Johnny wants to have a word with Mickie here. He says that it's urgent." she replied.

"Aw, crap." she muttered, exchanging a look with Chris.

"Want me to come with you?" he asked.

"He asked for Mickie ALONE." Eve cut in.

"I can speak for myself, bitch, thank you. Babe it's all right, I'll probably be in and out of there, so I'll be back." Mickie replied.

"Ok. Come back soon, I love you." he said, wrapping her in a hug.

"Oh, I love you, too." she replied.

Eve made a gagging noise, before Mickie shoved her aside on her way out.

Once they all left, Chris resumed getting ready, when Punk and Britani soon joined him.

"Hey Sab, why are you in here alone? Where's the rest of the crew?" asked CM.

"Hey, guys. Well, AJ and Alex had to head back to Jersey real quick and Mickie was called into Johnny's office." he explained.

"Johnny's office? Alone?" Britani asked, concerned. "Chris, you do know that if someone like her is called into his office, it's usually a bad sign."

He paused and looked at her.

"She's right, remember what happened when AJ snuck in there that one time and she was attacked by Eve and Del Rio?" agreed Punk. "You can't let her go in there alone unless you want the same happening to Mickie."

"Plus, word is, he's in a very pissed off mood after hearing that Batista and Del Rio, his two strongest men, got arrested, so who knows what he's capable of now." added Britani.

"Aw man, you guys have a good point. Hey…this just gave me a great idea!" Chris exclaimed.

"What's up?" asked Punk.

"What if we use this opportunity to prove to Vince that Johnny's nothing but scum?" he questioned. "Once the boss of the entire company finds out about all of the horrible things Johnny's done ever since he's been back in power, he'll have to fire him on the spot!"

Britani and Punk smiled while she exclaimed, "Yeah! That's a phenomenal idea! With him out, our lives will be one hell of a lot easier!"

"Yeah, it is a great idea, but how could we pull this off without Laurinitis finding out?" asked Punk.

"Hmm…maybe we can strap a tape recorder over my chest and I'll just hide it under my shirt. Then I'll go to his office and try to get to Mickie. While I'm there, I'll see if he tries anything funny with us, and whatever he says, it'll be recorded without him knowing." Chris explained.

"Ah! And while you're in there, Britani and I could round up his little team, y'know, Dolph, Beth, Eve, Jack, those guys, and they'll see that their so called 'leader' is nothing but a joke." Punk added.

"Guys, this really could work and we could finally get this guy out of our hair!" Britani exclaimed.

Sabin smiled. "Exactly. So what we need first is a tape recorder…and I don't know where to find one."

"Oh, here you go, man." Punk said, casually handing him one.

He raised an eyebrow. "Wow. Uh, thanks. Why are you conveniently carrying this around, anyway?"

CM nervously looked around. "…Cause."

"All right, so as soon as we get this strapped on me, the plan will be set in motion." Sabin replied, smiling evilly.

In the meantime, Mickie had reluctantly arrived to Johnny's office…

"Hello?" the Diva asked.

Johnny looked up from some paperwork. "Mickie! The Women's Champ! Come in, come in, have a seat!" he exclaimed with a smile.

She frowned and did what she was told. "Can we make this quick, I hate being in here with you."

"Well, this is sure to be quick and even painless. Look, let's just cut to the chase, shall we?" he asked, his expression turning serious. "I want you to rejoin my alliance."

The Diva raised and eyebrow. "What?"

"You heard me. I want you back in my alliance. See, my two strongest guys have been arrested, and Chris Jericho, the WWE Champion just dropped out. Now, I honestly want you two back together as my power couple—"

"That'll never happen, sir. Jericho and I've remained friends, but I'm back with Sabin. In fact, we're married now." she smiled, showing off her ring. "I believe congratulations are in order."

He sputtered, "WHAT? You know what, that's not the issue here. Mickie, I want—no, DEMAND that you rejoin my alliance to make it somewhat relevant again."

"Demand? And what happens if I don't join your stupid alliance?" she asked.

The GM stood up and looked her dead in the eye, while uttering, "I'll have you fired."

The Diva's eyes widened and she didn't know how to reply.

* * *

Meanwhile, AJ and Alex had arrived to New Jersey soon enough and rushed to the hospital that her mother was in, and the little Diva was a bundle of nerves.

"Ok, I seriously hate hospitals." Alex announced, not letting go of his girlfriend's hand.

"I know. They're nothing but bad news." AJ said in a whisper, wiping away her tears. "Alex, I'm so scared. What if she's connected to a bunch of wires and tubes and…"

"Hey, hey, don't think like that, babe. Your brother said that she was going to make a full recovery, plus, she really wants to see you." he replied. "And I'll be right here with you the whole time."

She mustered a smile. "Thanks, Shells, I don't think I could do this without you. Well, let's go."

Once they continued strolling down the halls and looking for her room, her brother Cristian found them first. "AJ, Alex, over here!"

They rushed to him.

"Oh Cris…" she sighed, giving him a hug.

After they broke away, he and Alex shared a manly hug. "Hey man, we got here as soon as we could." Shelley said.

"How's she doing?" asked the Diva.

"Well, the doctors said that she'd be allowed to go home tonight, thank God. She's right in the room behind us." replied Cristian.

She sighed. "Okay."

When she had her hand on the doorknob, Alex put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sure everything will be fine." he said with a smile.

She looked at him and nodded before opening the door, finding her mother sitting upright in bed, reading a magazine. When she lowered the magazine to look at AJ and Alex, she smiled, but was also sporting a black eye and some bruises on her face. "April, _mija! _Alex, come in! I've been waiting for you guys."

Seeing the bruises, AJ immediately began sobbing and ran into her arms. "Oh, mommy, I can't believe he did this to you…" she mumbled, tears streaming down her face.

"He won't do it again, _mija, _I promise. I'm going to be all right." she smiled, roaming a soothing hand up and down her back, while Alex nervously combed a hand through his hair, feeling bad for his girlfriend and feeling even worse for her mother. All he DID know, was that AJ's father Antonio, he was going DOWN.


	140. Chapter 140

**Chapter 140**

At the hospital, AJ, Alex, and Cristian were all in the room with her mother, trying to figure out what happened to her…

"Ok, how bad are you hurt?" asked Shelley.

"I just have a few bruises that'll disappear in a couple of days, but…honestly, I don't think the mental scars will ever go away. Antonio was supposed to be my husband, I've never seen him act this crazy before. I never thought he would be so cruel to his own children or me, for that matter!" she exclaimed.

"He's going to jail for this, we'll make sure of it. He can't do this crap and get away with it!" AJ exclaimed, not leaving her side. "Where'd he go after he attacked you?"

"Well, before he attacked me, he was living somewhere else, a motel, I believe. Then, he just stopped by the house, started yelling at me for no reason, and just began the attack right then and there." she replied. "After that, he left, but I don't know where. I-I'm just afraid that he'll come back and do the same to me again."

"Well, we're not gonna let that happen, ma." replied Cristian. "I'll do everything I can to make him pay."

"Guys, I—I feel like this is all my fault." Alex announced.

They all turned to him.

"Alex, what do you mean?" asked AJ.

"Yeah, you had nothing to do with any of this." agreed Lisa.

"Yeah, I know, but…the only reason why he attacked you was because he was trying to send AJ a message. Y'know, for her to stay away from me." he explained. "Everything he's done lately was because of me."

"Babe, that's not true! HE'S the one who has a problem with you and I being together. If he'd just accepted you in the first place, none of this would be happening. So this is all his fault, not yours." the Diva replied.

"She's absolutely right, Alex, this is not your fault whatsoever. You've been nothing but an angel who's kept my little April happier than she's ever been." she agreed.

He smiled. "Hey, I just want everyone to be safe, too. I just wonder how we're gonna stop this guy now if nobody knows where he is."

"I've already called the cops and I have to tell them everything tomorrow when she gets home." replied Cristian. "The thing is, I just don't want to bring her back there ever again."

Alex pondered for a moment before saying, "Hey, wait a minute, maybe she doesn't have to go back there."

"Really? Why?" asked AJ.

"Well, my folks really loved having you at their Thanksgiving party, Lisa, and since they have a guest bedroom at their place, maybe you could stay there for a while, y'know, at least until you get back on your feet."

AJ lit up and then turned to Lisa. "Hey, that's a great idea! You'll be totally safe with them!"

"Oh, Alex, I'm honored, but are you sure they'd really want me to live there?" she asked.

"Sure! If they hear what you had to go through, they'll take you in in a heartbeat. In fact, I'll give them a call tonight and maybe you can get your stuff packed and moved in there by tomorrow."

"Wow, that's wonderful of you, Alex, thank you so much, darling." she said, wrapping him in a hug.

"No problem helping out the mother of the woman that I love."

A huge smile grew across AJ's face, and she was beyond touched that her boyfriend would do such a kind thing.

"Yeah, Alex, that's the coolest thing I've ever seen anyone do, man, thanks." Cristian said, shaking his hand. "I'll help you start packing tonight, ma."

"I wish we could stay with you and help." AJ told her.

"Oh, no, no! As much as I'd love for you two to stay, you gotta head back to work with your friends! I don't want you coming to me one day complaining that you're out of a job!" Lisa joked.

They laughed.

"Aw, they love us over there too much to ever let us go." Shelley replied, smiling. "So uh, like I said, I'll give my folks a call, and sometime tonight, they'll call you back and hopefully things will take off from there."

"Awesome. Oh, thank you again, Alex, you have no idea how much I appreciate this!" she said, giving him another hug.

"Of course, Lisa!"

Then, she moved on to give AJ a hug and kiss on the cheek. "Thank you for visiting, _mija, _I already feel so much better!"

"Of course I'd come and see you at a time like this! I love you."

"I love you too, baby."

"Ok, Cris, let me know what happens, ok, just give me a call if anything new goes on." AJ told her brother.

"You got it, sis. Love ya." he said, giving her a hug.

"Love you, too." she replied, as he and Alex shared a cool handshake.

"Thanks again for everything, man, I'll talk to you later, ok?" said Cristian.

"You got it, buddy, see you around." he replied, before he and AJ headed out into the hall.

Before they could go anywhere, AJ stopped the Detroit native by wrapping her arms around his waist and burying herself into his chest.

He chuckled and wrapped an arm around her. "Hey, what's this for?"

"You know what this is for, Shells. What you did in there for her just now was the sweetest thing that I've ever seen anyone do. I love you so much, Alex, you have no idea."

"Hey, you have no idea how much I love you too, April. That's why I want to do this for her. I love you, and I love your family, so I just want the best for em. And the best would be to have Antonio, that creep out of all of our lives for good."

"You're damn right about that. What he just did was crossing the line and he's surely going to pay for all of it." she replied, nodding. "C'mon, let's try and make it back on our flight back to Baltimore to join our friends."

"Yeah, I wonder what's up with Sabin and Mickie, anyway. Hope they didn't get themselves into trouble without us." agreed Alex.

* * *

Back at the arena, Mickie was still in Laurinitis's office, hearing the shocking ultimatum that he'd just given her…

"Oh, don't you give me that look, Mickie. You heard what I said, you either rejoin my alliance, or you are good as fired. I'll even future endeavor you. How's that sound?" he asked with a sick smile.

She shook her head. "You can't fire me."

"What makes you say that?"

"I'm obviously one of the most beloved and one of the most popular Divas here. Not to mention the fact that I'm the Women's Champion! If you get rid of me, it'll be bad for business. And you're a good businessman, aren't ya?"

"Yeah, but I don't care about business, I only care about—" he froze, once Sabin slowly opened the door and poked his head in.

"Uh, this is a private meeting!" Johnny said sharply.

"Yeah, I know. I just wanted to tell Mickie that she forgot her Women's title in our room. Here you go, babe." he said, handing it to her.

"Oh thanks, baby, but I was going to come right back."

"Yeah, but still, when you have a title, you should keep it on you at all times. Well uh, I'll see you in a few, beautiful." he replied, about to head out, when Johnny called, "Hold it, Sabin!"

He turned around.

"You shouldn't leave, I need to speak to you as well."

On the inside, he smirked a little, knowing that his plan was working so far. But on the outside, he nodded. "Ok, what's going on?"

"Well, I was busy telling your little girlfriend here—"

"Wife." he corrected.

Johnny rolled his eyes. "Wife, that if she doesn't join my alliance, she's as good as fired." he smiled.

"…WHAT?" he demanded, suddenly pissed. "Come on, man, you can't do that to her!"

"I can, and I will. That is, if she doesn't join Team Johnny. And while you're here, I'll throw the same deal to you. You don't join my alliance as well, I'll fire you both on the spot. And then once you two are out, I'll try and recruit both AJ and Shelley. If THEY refuse, I'll just get rid of them as well. And after that, NO more Guns, isn't that great?!" he cried, almost maniacally.

"Oh, so now I get it. This is all a part of your master plan to get rid of us, isn't it?" Mickie demanded. "That's what you've been trying to do all along."

"You're damn right it is. I'm sick and tired of you four punks hogging the titles and the spotlight from the people who truly deserved them. And I'm tired of you punks embarrassing me each and every time! I'm trying to gain some respect around this place and I get nothing but disrespect! I'm sick! I'm sick of it all!"

"Dude, ok. First things first, we never did anything horrible to you, and if we did, you were the cause of it." explained Chris. "Nobody here likes you. And because of that, you're just jealous that everyone loves us instead. You were also jealous of Punk when he was carrying the WWE title, because everyone loved him and they STILL do, but yet you decide to target him and make his life miserable like you've made ours. Well, it ends today, Johnny. All of it."

"Oh, is that supposed to be a threat?" he asked, smirking. "Look, I don't care about you. I don't care about the worthless members of my alliance. Dolph, Beth, Jack, Eve, Nattie, all of those people have failed me, and I don't give a damn about them since my two strongest and most effective men are in jail! Now, since I can't count on them, I'll just have to take care of things myself by getting rid of you personally. And…" he began, grabbing Mickie and then grabbing a knife from his drawer, while she gasped in shock. "I'll start with her."

Chris's eyes widened, in fear of his wife getting hurt. "Johnny, I know you're crazy, but you're not this crazy."

"Oh, I'm crazy all right," he began, smiling creepily. "I'm CRRRAAAAAZZZZYYY! And I'm gonna finish off your pretty little wife and make you watch!"

"Let her go, you son of a bitch!" Chris shouted, wishing he had a weapon of his own to scare him away. "You hurt a hair on her head and I'LL be the one to kill you!"

"I don't care what you do, as long as the Guns are over! Now, Mickie, time to say good night…" he began, while she squirmed around. Before he could do anything, though, the door bursted open and Punk and Britani, along with Dolph, Jack, Eve, Beth, and Natalya were all standing there.

"See, guys, you heard every word that this man said. He doesn't care about any of you!" Punk assured, while they sent him scornful looks.

Johnny became flustered, with his hand shaking with the knife.

"And now that you nearly tried to just KILL someone…" began Britani.

Chris smirked and lifted up his shirt to reveal the tape recorder. "We have all the evidence right here. And you know the first place this tape is going?"

Johnny frowned.

"Right to Vince's office. Nice knowing you, bub, but uh…"

Mickie slipped out of the GM's grasp and then kicked him in the shin, before running back to Chris. She finished, "You're gonna be future endeavored."

"I—YOU—Dolph, Jack, guys, what I said about all of you, I—I didn't mean it!" he sputtered.

"You never really cared about us?" Dolph asked, his arms crossing.

"See, man, I told you!" Jack exclaimed. "We don't need him to be Superstars, we can make a name for ourselves on our own!"

"Well, dude, I already have a name made for myself. You, that's a different story."

"HEY!" he cried.

"Ok, ok, anyway, if that's what you think about us, Johnny, we don't want anything to do with you anymore. We weren't getting anywhere with you in charge, anyway." the bleach blonde replied while Mickie, Chris, Punk, and Britani exchanged smiles, seeing that their plan was working perfectly.

"No—No, guys, you can't do this, you can't leave me!" Johnny exclaimed, still clutching the knife.

"They're right, Johnny, you—you're a monster." Beth said, shocked. "We walked in on you holding Mickie hostage with a KNIFE in your hand! She and I aren't friends at all, but I'd never go and do that to her, to anyone!"

"I—I wasn't really gonna kill her!" he argued.

"You're disgusting, and I want nothing to do with you or this alliance anymore." she turned to Eve. "And I don't want you as an associate anymore. I want to go back to my partner, and sister." she finished, turning to Nattie.

"WHAT?!" Eve demanded, shocked. "But Beth, what about all we've been through?"

"All you've done is shut out my best friend and nobody does that to my girl." she replied, turning back to the Canadian. "Nattie, heh heh…I know I've been acting like a bitch towards you lately, but I'm really sorry I let Eve practically brainwash me. I love you and I just hope you'll be able to accept my apology."

The blonde smirked. "Well, I dunno, you DID turn your back on me."

"You're my sister, Nattie, please!"

"Ah, ok, ok, apology accepted. After the show, how about we head out for some lattes at Starbucks?" she asked, wrapping an arm around her.

"You got it."

"NO!" Johnny's angry voice cried, startling them all. "I—I can't let any of you leave. This isn't over, someone here is going to get hurt, I'll make sure of it."

"Dude, there's no getting out of it. We already called the cops and they're on the way here." Punk began, smiling. "We told them about all the crap you've done, and being that you were previously in jail before, they know exactly who you are."

"Plus, I'm sure they'll be glad to have you back in prison." agreed Britani. "Just stay out of the showers, you never know what those other inmates might try while you're in there."

"You—YOU—" Johnny began chuckling crazily, before going with plan B and high tailing it past them and out of the room. Once he ran down the hall, the group looked in his direction.

"So now what's gonna become of him?" asked Dolph.

"Nothing." Chris replied, wrapping an arm around Mickie while the police sirens could be heard from outside. "Absolutely nothing."

"Yeah, I'm sure the cops will find him speeding down the street sooner or later." Mickie agreed, leaning into his chest.

"So now, what are we gonna do with the tape?" asked Britani.

Chris untaped it from his chest and handed it to Punk. "Whenever either of you two see Vince, hand this to him, will ya?"

"Done deal, man…and why the hell is this thing all warm?!" Punk winced.

"Oh, shut up." he smirked back. "Point is, this is the end of Johnny and the end of that People Power crap."

"Yeah, I can't wait to tell Alex and AJ about all this!" agreed Mickie. "So, uh, I think the rest of you owe us a 'thank you', right?"

Ziggler and the gang looked at one another before he said, "Yeah, I guess getting rid of him was better for everyone, so uh, thanks to all of you. But that doesn't mean that we have to like you!"

"Oh no prob, buddy, we don't like any of you, either." Punk shrugged.

"Good. C'mon, let's get outta here and throw rocks in the dumpster in the parking lot." the bleach blonde announced while the others, minus Eve, agreed. Eve, on the other hand, didn't know what to say or do.

"Well, well, well, Eve. Johnny, your little sugar daddy, is gone forever, and Beth wants nothing to do with you anymore. Where do you go now?" Mickie asked, smirking.

"I—OOH, I hate you all!" she whined, storming off.

The others laughed.

"Well, gang, looks like things are only going to get better from this day on. Great work on Operation Eliminate Johnny, everyone." Sabin announced, to cheers from Mickie, Britani, and Punk. Today was indeed a victory for Team Guns, that's for sure.


	141. Chapter 141

**Chapter 141**

The next couple of weeks had flown by pretty quickly, and for the Guns and their friends, life was pretty damn good. For one thing, Johnny was indeed arrested for his many, many crimes, and once Vince had gotten ahold of the tape of Johnny's confessions, Laurinitis was fired right then and there. The whole locker room celebrated, of course, but now there was a need for a new General Manager. Also, Alex's folks had gladly allowed for AJ's mother to live with them, and she couldn't thank the Detroit native enough for everything he's done. AJ hadn't gotten any more threatening texts from her evil father, and speaking of who, that particular day just happened to be March 15th, AJ's 26th birthday. Of course, the Guns had a lot planned for the tiny Diva, especially Alex.

That morning, she was still asleep in bed when she was woken up by the sound of singing from her friends.  
"For it's your happy good birthday, for it's your happy good birthday, for it's your happy good birthdaaaay..."

She sat up and smiled.

"...happy birthday to you...uh—AJ!" they finished.

"Haha, nice rendition!" she exclaimed, clapping. "Aw guys, you remembered!"

"Hey, sis, it's not every day that our favorite little munchkin turns 26." Chris replied.

"And the funny thing is, you don't even look 26 to begin with, girlie." added Mickie.

"Yeah you look like, 15." Alex said, examining her.

"Oh, so I'm immature now? Thanks, guys." the Diva replied, smirking and crossing her arms.

"No, no! We're complimenting on how young you still look!" he exclaimed. "And you know what, we're going to give you a day that you'll remember forever!"

"Yeah, we'll make sure that your birthday doesn't end up like mine did." Chris agreed, shuddering at the memory. "How in the HELL did my own birthday cake catch on fire again, anyway?" he demanded.

Mickie patted him on the back. "Sab, just let it go. We had cupcakes back at home, so you ended the day on a good note. Now this isn't about you, this is about her. So, April, since today is YOUR day, what do you want to do?"

"Hmm…I don't really know. I just want to hang out and have fun with you guys!" she exclaimed, smiling.

"All right, well since it's a beautiful day, how about we all head to the beach and have one helluva time?" asked Alex.

"Oh yay, we haven't been there in a long time, that'll be awesome!" she exclaimed.

"Great, so hurry up and get dressed, cause we have a busy day ahead of us!" Mickie replied, grabbing her by the arm. "And to begin with, we're having your favorite breakfast – Blueberry pancakes!"

"YAY!"

"And the best part – Alex ain't cooking them!" Chris joked. "Cause we can't have him kill you on your own birthday."

Alex threw a slipper at him while Chris dodged for cover and jogged out of the room. "Oh, you have to go THERE, dontcha? Shut up and make her her breakfast, douche!" he snapped.

* * *

Later that day, the gang headed to the beach as planned, and they spent the day simply having fun. First, AJ, Chris, and Mickie had fun burying Alex up to his head in the sand, and once he was dug out, he chased the three into the ocean in retaliation. After that, they played in a competitive game of Beach Volleyball, where the team of AJ and Alex defeated the team of Chris and Mickie. The two were stoked to have finally beat them in _something_, anyway. Then, the four relaxed a little by doing some sunbathing, followed by building a few sandcastles. Mickie was pleased that she'd built a pretty nice looking one, but once the waves tore it down, she retaliated by running into the ocean and screaming a slur of curse words at the water itself, while the others had to drag her away and calm her down. The four later tried a hand at wind sailing, but well…let's not get too into that. It was messy. Now, the four were sitting under an umbrella, sharing birthday cake and enjoying the rest of AJ's birthday…

"Oh my God, you totally failed back there when we were wind boarding, I was dying laughing when you tried to grab onto the sail and fell into the water!" Mickie laughed.

"Hey, I wasn't the only one who made a fool outta myself back there!" Alex protested. "You three didn't do so hot, either!"

"Yeah, but at least we lasted more than 3 seconds." Chris replied, chuckling. "Great cake, by the way."

"Oh, shut up, Sabin. And yeah, is this cake tasty or what?" he agreed.

"You guys remembered that I love chocolate with vanilla frosting and I love you all for it!" AJ exclaimed. "Y'know, this has been one of the greatest birthday parties I've ever had, and the best part of it was spending it with three of my most favorite people in the world. Thanks for everything, you guys."

Mickie hugged her while the guys replied, "Sure thing—Of course!"

"You have been through quite a rollercoaster, young lady, with your evil father and your mother just getting out of the hospital and everything, so we just thought that you deserved a great day for once, y'know?" Chris replied with a smile.

"Aww, it's been a wonderful day." she replied, smiling back. "But this party shouldn't just be about me."

"Why not?" asked Mickie.

"Well, we should also celebrate the fact that Johnny's finally out of our lives forever! Without you, Chris, Punk, and Britani coming up with that plan that you told us about, you wouldn't have gotten rid of him!"

"Yeah, I gotta admit, that was a Class A plan, dude." Alex agreed, slapping Chris's hand. "But now that he's out of the picture, I wonder who the new GM's gonna be."

"Hell, anyone's better than Laurinitis, so I don't give a damn who it is. Charlie Sheen could be the flipping GM and I wouldn't care!" Sabin exclaimed.

"Why him? He's almost as big a lunatic as Johnny was." Mickie said, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, well…whatevs, let's just be happy that Mr. Excitement is locked up in Shawshank somewhere getting molested by the other inmates!" he cheered.

"WHOO!" the three joined in.

"So, guys, Wrestlemania 29 is coming up in just a few weeks, you guys stoked for our second Wrestlemania ever as a team?!" AJ exclaimed.

"Oh, hell yeah! We all scored our gold last year on the Grandest Stage and we'll sure as hell do it again!" Alex agreed. "But uh, since the tag titles recently became vacant again, how are we gonna get a chance to compete for em and who are we gonna face?"

"Good question. Oh well, guess we'll just have to leave it up to the new GM." replied Chris. "So ladies, what do you two have planned for the big day?"

Mickie and AJ looked at one another.

"Well…I have to defend my Women's title against somebody." the Country Diva replied slowly.

AJ smirked and raised an eyebrow. "I wonder who you're gonna choose?"

She smirked back. "Yes, I wonder…"

As the two continued looking at one another, Alex exclaimed, "Oh, ho, I have a feeling that this is going to go awesomely."

Chris chuckled. "I agree. Well, either way, since we don't have to deal with your crazy stalker anymore either, we'll finally be able to go to Wrestlemania Axxess and the Hall of Fame ceremony and everything!"

"Touché! God, I just hope they don't induct someone like Drew Carey again, that was just terrible." Shelley said, making a face.

"Well, let's not rehash old memories and just look to the future, ok?" Mickie asked, laughing.

"Oh, I see a future, all right." Chris began, reaching back into his bag. "In fact, I see a very…wet future."

"What the hell are you talking about, dillhole?" asked Alex.

He smirked and whipped out a couple of water balloons. "Surprise! Here comes the Sandman!" he exclaimed.

"Oh God, he's got balls!" AJ cried. "RUN!"

The three sped off while Chris laughed crazily and tossed balloon after balloon towards his friends while they ran for cover. Once the three managed to grab a hold of some water balls of their own, though, well, let's just say that things got pretty messy quite quickly. In a fun way, that is.

* * *

After AJ's beach party, Alex decided to take her out to this carnival that was in town later that evening…

"So, babe, you enjoying your day so far?" he asked, taking her hand.

"Aw, hell yeah, Shells, this is definitely the kind of day that I've needed for a while now." she smiled back. "I dunno, it just finally feels like things are going 100% great for all of us now. Mickie and Chris are happily married, my mother's safe living at your folks' place, and we haven't seen from or heard a sign from my lunatic father, and we don't have a crazy GM anymore at work... Wait, do you think that all this good stuff's happening to us cause it's softening us up for something horrible in the near future?" she asked, pausing.

"What makes you think that, April?" he asked.

"I dunno, it just seems that happiness never lasts too long before something bad happens." she shrugged. "Dark thought, I know."

"You can't think that way, babe, I think that our happiness is gonna last us a real long time. And you know, it's only gonna get better at Wrestlemania once we win our respective titles." he replied, smirking.

"Oh, what makes you so confident, you cocky jerk?" she asked, chuckling.

"Cause I'm a Machine Gun. That's the only excuse that I need."

AJ laughed. "It's always excuses with you! Anyhoo, I wonder how Velvet's doing now that she's back in Florida and in TNA again."

"Aw, don't mention that Blonde headache again, please! For all I know, she's probably been kicked out of every Halloween store cause the staff told her, 'Sorry, no professionals!'" he joked.

"You're terrible." she kept laughing. "But actually, I don't see a reason for you to insult her anymore since she's no longer with us."

"Hmm, good point. But I still get a kick out of it, so I'll continue doing it. Ah, April, baby, I don't think I've been this happy in years. I have a beautiful girlfriend on my arm, the best friends in the world, a great paying job…I don't think that a guy could ask for any more." he announced.

She stopped in front of him. "Well, I'm happy that you're so happy." she smiled.

"Well I'm happy that you're happy that I'm happy." he chuckled. "And, you know what, I think we could both take that happiness to a whole new level."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, uh, since your brithday's not over yet, I have just one more present that I wanted to give you." he said.

"Aw, Shells, you're too sweet! But I've been getting presents all day today, I don't need any more!" the Diva replied, the smile never leaving her face.

"Yeah, but this gift is a special one and it's one that could uh, impact the rest of our lives forever."

She looked puzzled. "Really? What is it?"

"Well, it's not really much of a physical gift, more like a, uh…"

"Alex, just tell me what it is, I can't wait any longer!" she exclaimed, jumping up and down.

"Ok, I'll just cut to the chase. April, I want you to marry me." he announced with a nervous smile.

After hearing that, the Diva stopped in mid bounce and her eyes widened in shock. "H—huh?" she uttered.


	142. Chapter 142

**Chapter 142**

Later that same evening, Mickie and Chris were hoping to head out somewhere else with Alex and AJ for her birthday, but Alex told them to stay at the hotel instead while he headed out to the carnival with her. Now, the two were wondering why the hell their friends hadn't come back in so long…

"Man, I can't believe our trip to the Golden Corral was cut short for this!" he cried, disappointed.

"I know, babe, you really wanted to try that Chocolate fountain. I'm sorry." she pouted, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Not just try it, I wanted to freaking SWIM in that thing! I was PUMPED for this and Shelley had to ruin it for me!" he pouted back.

"Sabin, it's not the end of the world, we could always go back there later! Now AJ and Alex called us and said that they had important news, and since they're our best friends, we'll be here to hear what they have to tell us." she replied.

He wrapped an arm around her while she snuggled into him. "I wonder what, though. Wait..."

"What?"

"What if...Alex found out that I took his last fruit popple from out of the freezer?" he cried, worried.

She laughed. "Chris..."

"No, really! You remember what happened the last time, he locked me in the closet for 5 hours and played non-stop Yanni cassettes outside of the door! I don't want to be put through that torment ever again!" he continued, terrified at the memory.

"Settle down, Chrismeister, if Alex wants to do anything, he'll have to get through me first." she smiled.

He smiled back. "Ahh, now I feel way safer. You know how much I adore you, my Goddess?" he asked.

She blushed and looked up at him. "Do you know how much I adore you, handsome stud?" she asked back.

Soon after, the two leaned in and shared an immensely passionate kiss, when soon after that, AJ and Alex, smiling like mad, entered the place.

"Hey, friends, what's news?" Shelley exclaimed.

"And isn't it a bee-yoo-tiful day?" the tiny Diva asked, beaming.

"Wow, someone's uber-happy this evening." announced Chris.

"Yeah, what's going on, why'd you call us back here?" asked Mickie.

"Well, we just happen to have a very special announcement that we'd like to share with our very best friends in the world." announced Alex.

Chris lit up. "You brought more fruit popples?" he cried.

Shelley looked at him. "...No. Why would I need to? Wait, you didn't take the last one, did you, Sabin?" he demanded, suspicious.

He quickly shook his head. "NO! Why would I, I learned my lesson the last time!" he lied.

"Oh, forget about the fruit popples and tell us what's going on!" Mickie cried, anxious.

Alex and AJ smiled at one another. "You wanna tell em, babe?" he asked.

"Tell us WHAT?!" the two cried.

The Diva smiled. "Well, after today, I will soon become Mrs. April Jeanette Shelley." she announced, still beaming, and revealing her engagement ring, which was...a small plastic donut ring?

Mickie and Chris's eyes widened when they simultaneously called, "WHAT? Get OUT!"

"Aw, guys, I can't believe it, congratulations!" Chris exclaimed, sharing a hug with Alex and hugged April and kissed her cheek. Mickie did the same with Alex.

"This-This is UNBELIEVABLE!" the Country Diva cried. "OMG, let me see your ring again!"

She flashed them the doughnut ring and the two looked at one another, confused.

"Sooo...you guys proposed at Dunkin Donuts or something?" asked Chris.

"Yeah, why's your ring plastic and...covered in plastic white frosting with little sparkly sprinkles on it?" Mickie asked, just as confused.

"Oh wait, I know why. Cause as usual, Alex here is too CHEAP to get her a real engagement ring. Cheapskate." Chris answered.

"Oh, shut up, dillweed, she loves the ring!" Alex snapped back.

"Yeah, it's the most beautiful gift that anyone's ever given me." she smiled along.

"Well, you guys, spill! Tell us the proposal, everything!" Mickie exclaimed, taking a seat on the couch with Chris while AJ was on Alex's lap.

"Ok, well it all happened a few hours ago, and we were at the carnival..." she began.

_Flashback…_

"Alex, just tell me what it is, I can't wait any longer!" she exclaimed, jumping up and down.

"Ok, I'll just cut to the chase. April, I want you to marry me." he announced with a nervous smile.

After hearing that, the Diva stopped in mid bounce and her eyes widened in shock. "H—huh?" she uttered. "...C-Could you repeat what you just said?"

He kept smiling and took her hands. "I want you to marry me."

She slowly nodded. "That's-That's what I thought you said. Now catch me while I faint."

"No, no, no!" he held her up. "April, listen. You are my absolute everything, and after the situation with Del Rio, and your evil father and everything, I've realized that I don't ever want to lose you. At first, I never really pictured myself as being a married man, but now, looking at this beautiful geek standing in front of me that I share so much in common with in a way that's almost scary, that's all changed. I can definitely picture myself spending the rest of my life with you, but...only if you'll let me." he finished, the smile never leaving his face.

The tears were definitely streaming down her face and she was at a loss for words. How could she refuse an offer to spend the rest of her life with someone as amazing as him? Once she found her voice again, she smiled and replied by slowly getting down on one knee and taking his hand, while he had on an amused smile and chuckled. "Aww, babe!"

She giggled back and replied through her tears, "Well, Alex, if you want me to marry you, I really hope that you'll marry me, too. So, will you?"

He took her hands and pulled her back up, to where he replied, "You're damn right I want to marry you."

"Well, it looks like I just happen to want to marry you, too. So I say yes!" she exclaimed. "Yes!"

His smile grew even bigger at this before he lifted her up in a huge bear hug, while she laughed and grabbed onto his shoulders.

"WHOO!" he cheered. Then, he remembered something important. "Oh, crap. Wait a sec."

"What?" she asked, confused.

"A ring. I need to give you an engagement ring!" he cried, panicked.

"Shells, baby, it's ok, we have plenty of time-"

"No, it's not ok, you need an engagement ring, and I'm gonna get you one." he finished. When he turned around, he saw a vending machine filled with plastic rings. "This'll do for now." he said, putting 50 cents in and taking out one of the little plastic bubbles, and opening it to reveal a small plastic donut ring with plastic white 'frosting' and sparkles as sprinkles.

"Oh, babe!" she exclaimed, lighting up.

"Don't be upset, sweetie, this is only temporary. I promise that I'll get you something way better and more expensive." he replied.

"Alex, no! I love this!" she smiled.

The Detroit native was confused. "You do?"

"Yeah! I don't care how much it costs, and besides, this adorable little thing is the most beautiful present that anyone's ever given me. Alex Shelley, I love you so much."

He smiled back again and slid the ring onto her finger. "And I love you, April Jeanette." he replied before the two shared the most intoxicating kiss of their lives.

_Back to today…_

Chris smiled and Mickie already had tears forming in her eyes, since she was a huge romantic and all.

"Aw, guys, we can't even begin to say how happy we are that you're finally tying the knot." Sabin told them.

"Yes, you two deserve some happiness after what you had to go through with Del Rio and AJ's dad." Mickie agreed, smiling along. "Oh, my God. You're getting married!"

"Uh, yeah, Mickie, we've already established that." Alex chuckled.

"No, I mean, there's so much that we have to do! We have wedding plans! Y'know, what dress you're wearing, where the wedding's going to be, who's invited, when the wedding's going to be, bachelor and bachelorette parties-" Mickie rambled on.

"And a huge chocolate cake with vanilla frosting would be nice." Chris smiled.

"Whoa, whoa, guys, one at a time!" Shelley exclaimed, waving his arms. "I know it's a lot to get done, but really, AJ and I talked it over and we don't want such a huge fuss over all this."

"Yeah! We don't want this huge extravaganza or anything, just something small and simple." she agreed, nodding. "You know, like how your wedding went!"

"Well, it was small and simple, until you guys invited everyone from both companies over for the reception." Chris chuckled. "Good times..."

"Yeah, and besides, we only want the best for you like you wanted the best for us! We insist on giving you two the biggest wedding bash ever, and I will NOT take no for an answer!" the Country Diva exclaimed.

"It's true, she won't." nodded Chris.

"But guys, listen, we just got engaged a few hours ago and-HEY!" Alex cried once both Chris and Mickie whisked them away for some immediate wedding planning. Oh, what fun this would be.


	143. Chapter 143

_**AN: These next two chappies are pretty fitting for Valentine's Day. ;)**_

* * *

**Chapter 143**

So over the course of two weeks, a lot was getting done for the wedding, while some things were on a major setback. Mickie and Chris, as her assistant, were going insane with every little detail, and they didn't even realize that the stress of everything was already getting to Alex and April. Inside, Mickie was on the phone with someone.

"NO, I said that I wanted the deluxe order of party favors, DELUXE! My friends deserve the best, and not some cheap bit hack like you!" she snapped, hanging up.

Meanwhile, Chris was also on the phone. "Yeah, I'd like uh, one large pizza, with uh...hell, lay on every topping that you have...$35.99?!" he demanded.

"Yes, how are the shoes doing? You'll have them in by tomorrow night? Excellent!" Mickie continued.

"Who the hell would fork over $36 bucks for pizza?" Chris demanded. "That's highway robbery!"

"Ok, and the reception hall will be open for the wedding, right? Awesome!" she exclaimed.

"And I've ordered from you guys before, that 'delivery in 30 minutes or less' crap is a fat flipping lie!" he continued.

"And make sure that the cake is in absolutely perfect condition when we come to pick it up, ok? Great!" she continued, hanging up the phone.

"You know what, screw this, I'm calling Pizza Hut! Wait, what?" Chris asked.

"Well, Chris, everything seems to be in order!" Mickie smiled, turning to her husband.

He hung up the phone. "Same here, baby. I'm paying $36 dollars for pizza." he replied.

"Who the hell pays $36 for pizza?" she asked.

"I am, unfortunately. But we have to go and pick it up."

"Aw, Chris, I have to stay here and wait for some important calls!" she whined.

"But Mickie, you have to come with me to seduce the cops just in case they pull me over for speeding!...Again!" he whined back.

She groaned. "You're so lucky that I love you too much to refuse. Let's go, but we have to hurry!" she cried, dragging him along.

* * *

Meanwhile, AJ was in the bedroom of their hotel, wearing her wedding dress while she looked at herself in the mirror. She heard all the planning going on in the other room and sighed. Why couldn't she just have a nice, normal wedding? Well, not normal, but simple? All kinds of thoughts ran through her head, but perked up when she heard Alex's voice call, _"April, babe, are you here?"_

"Uh, Alex, yeah, but don't come in yet!" she cried, realizing that it was bad luck for him to see her in her dress to early.

"Why not, what's going-" he began, stepping in the room to see his fiancée in her dress. His heart skipped a beat.

She slowly and shyly turned around to face him. "Hi, Shelleykins." she smiled a little.

He smiled, shaking his head a little. "Oh my God, April, you look...so beautiful." he uttered.

"It's bad luck to see me in the dress before the wedding, you know." she said cutely.

"I don't care, I'm glad I'm seeing you like this." he replied, approaching her. Then, he noticed her expression. "You okay, sweetie?"

"I-I...I don't know!" she exclaimed, pacing the room. "I just don't know."

"Well, tell me what's wrong, maybe I can help."

"Alex, it's just...I-I can't do this anymore!" she cried.

Now he looked surprised, fearing the worst. "Wait, what do you mean? Do you like, not want to get married after all?" he asked, a little disappointed.

She sniffled, a smile growing on her face. "Are you kidding? Marrying you would be the greatest thing to ever happen to me! What I mean is that I can't deal with all these wedding plans! I love Mickie like a sister and all, but she's driving me crazy, whether it's talk about whether this dress is the right one or not, what shoes I need to wear, how my hair's gonna look, all of it!" she continued. "And I'm not saying this to be mean, but it's the truth. I feel like I'm being smothered by everyone!"

"Well, April, you're absolutely right." agreed Shelley, wrapping his arms around her waist. "But you know what, this is YOUR wedding and you should get to decide how you want things to be. I'll be totally fine going along with you, cause I love your style, Miss Geek Chic."

She laughed. "Well, thank you, Alex, that's what I needed to hear all day today. But still, I'm just so...so confused about everything! I mean, what if all this is happening too fast? Agh, this is just so stressful on me and I have a whole bunch of thoughts running through my mind about if this all backfires and everything ends up getting ruined-"

"April!" he stopped her, still smiling. "Breathe. Just relax, everything is going to be fine."

She nodded and sighed. "It will?"

"Yes, because as long as we're getting married, I'll be happy either way." he finished, gazing into her eyes and brushing away a strand of her hair.

The tiny Diva smiled up at her fiancé and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Man, I'm so lucky to have you." she sighed happily. "I love you."

"And I love you." he replied before they kissed.

"Oh no, I just realized something! Alex, if Mickie comes back early and comes in here seeing you in here seeing me in my dress, she's gonna freak out and make me get a new one for-for God _knows _how expensive it'll be!" AJ cried, worried. "I gotta go and get changed!"

"But babe, it doesn't matter! I'm not getting married to her, I'm getting married to you in whatever dress you choose to wear, whether it be satin, lace, or polyester!" he joked.

She laughed, ran up to him and gave him a quick kiss, and headed off to get changed while he chuckled and smiled in her direction. He was SO glad to have her...in fact, he couldn't wait to make her his any longer. He had a great idea in mind.

* * *

Later that evening, Alex had told AJ that he needed to head out for a bit to get her a surprise, while Chris and Mickie were still out too, leaving AJ at their hotel on her own. Now, she was on the phone with her mother…

"Haha, calm down, I already told you that Alex and I were getting married a few weeks ago!" she exclaimed.

"_I know, but I just can't get over the fact that my little mjia is finally getting married to that angel of a boyfriend of yours!"_ Lisa exclaimed on the other line. _"When is the wedding going to be?"_

"We actually have no idea, but we're hoping it's sooner than later." she replied. "I just can't believe this is finally happening to me. I mean, Alex and I weren't sure that we would ever think about marriage, cause we were happy just being boyfriend and girlfriend. But after he proposed to me, I just couldn't refuse. After all, he's the only guy for me, and why not marry him, y'know? I sure as hell don't want any other girl to have him!"

"_Well, you've definitely made the right decision on choosing men. I just wish I would've."_

"Hey, you don't ever have to see dad again, we'll make sure of it. He had absolutely no right to put his hands on you the way he did and he's still going down for it once we find him."

"_April, please, I don't want either you, Cristian, or Alex anywhere near him, he's too dangerous and I don't want any of you three getting hurt. But don't worry about me, sweetie, Alex's folks are amazing and I love living here. I feel so much safer, anyway."_

She smiled. "That's great to hear, I'm so happy that you're happy."

"_And I'm happy that you're happy. Trust me, mija, I know for a fact that you and Alex are going to have a wonderful life together. And once you're married, you better work on getting me some grandkids, ok?"_

AJ gasped, chuckling. "Grandkids? Come on, ma, neither of us are ready to have kids anytime soon!"

"_Aww, why not?"_

"Cause! We still work full time jobs and…we're just not ready for that. All Alex and I want is to enjoy married life together. Now, if things change in the future, then we'll see, but as for now, no kids, ok?"

"_Ok, ok, fine! So anyway, I better let you go back to your fiancé. Speaking of who, is Alex there with you?"_

"Oh no, he left a little while ago to go and grab some kind of surprise for me, he should be back soon."

"_All righty then, when he gets back, tell him I said hi, ok?"_

"I sure will. I love you."

"_I love you too, mija."_

After she hung up, AJ sighed happily and lied back on the couch, flipping through pictures on her phone. She stopped and stared at her favorite picture of both her and Alex when they were back in Japan, goofing off and having fun. The Diva smiled and then began to daydream about how their future wedding would go, at least in her fantasies…

…

"_AAAHHH!" AJ screamed, running away from a Monster-transformed Alberto Del Rio, who was chasing her in the middle of this abandoned castle._

"_Nobody can save the princess now, hahahaha!" Del Rio exclaimed evilly._

_The Diva stumbled to the floor and quickly tried to back away, but before the monster could get to her, Alex swung in through a window and took the villain down with a swift kick to the face. Then, he whipped out a rope and lassoed it around Monster Del Rio's neck, pulling the rope to where the monster forcefully crashed into the wall. Shelley swung the rope again and using his 'super strength', tossed the monster away to who-knows-where, never to be seen again. Finally, he picked the Diva up into his arms._

"_My hero!" AJ smiled, gazing up at him._

"_Hey, I wasn't gonna let that douche terrorize my fiancée! Now whaddya say we go and get married right away?" he asked._

"_I'd love to!" she agreed._

…

_Not long after that, she was changed into her dress and he was changed into an all white suit, with a white dressy top, a white jacket, white jeans, and light gray converses. He still carried her in his arms as they walked up the aisle and approached the minister, who was already there waiting for them._

"_AJ, do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?" he asked._

_She looked up at him, the smile never leaving her face. "I do."_

"_And Alex, do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?"_

_The Detroit native sent a wink her way and replied, "I sure do."_

"_Then by the power invested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride." the minister finished._

_Alex lifted up AJ's veil and leaned in to kiss her, but before she could…_

…

The sound of the phone ringing jarred AJ from her dream.

"Aw, crap! Right when it was getting good! Oh well, it'll happen for real soon enough." she smiled, picking up her phone. "Hello?"

"_Uh, hey sis, it's me." _Chris said on the other line. Strangely enough, he sounded pretty…scared.

AJ took notice of this. "Hey, Chris, what's up?"

"_Sis, y-you have to sit down for a sec. I—I have some bad news."_

She raised an eyebrow. "I am sitting down. Chris, what's wrong, I've never heard you sound like this before."

"_Just don't freak out ok, but uh, Alex…"_

"Come on, Chris, you're beginning to scare me here. What happened to Alex?" she asked, nervously clutching onto the phone.

"_He was in a car accident just a little while ago."_ he uttered.

The Diva's eyes widened and she nearly dropped the phone while her heart stopped for a second. "…WHAT did you just say, Chris? Please tell me you didn't just say that!"

"_He was on his way back to the hotel, talking to me on the phone, but before the line went dead, I suddenly heard a crash, and I knew that something was wrong. Look, I don't know all the details just yet, but you gotta get to the hospital right now, ok?"_

The tears were already streaming down her face. "Oh God, a-all right, Chris, I'm on my way." she said, quickly hanging up, grabbing her purse and rushing out of the door. "Shells, just hang on, I'll be right there. Just please be all right, please…"


	144. Chapter 144

**_AN: Ah...the tearjerker chapter. Enjoy._  
**

* * *

**Chapter 144**

After hearing the news of Alex's car crash, AJ rushed to the hospital as fast as she could. The Diva was surprised that she was even able to drive carefully, considering the fact that she was a scared, nervous wreck. Once she saw Mickie and Chris in the waiting room, she rushed to them and they stood up.

"AJ—" began Mickie.

"Where is he, where's my fiancé? Is he all right? What happened to him?" she rambled.

"Ok, ok, calm down and let us explain." Chris said, placing his hand on her shoulders.

"I CAN'T just calm down while Alex is laying in a hospital bed somewhere!" she cried.

"Listen to me. Ok, all the doc told us was that they had to take him to the ER just to check him out—"

"ER?!" she almost screamed.

"They just wanted to check him out there, AJ, listen to us." Mickie replied. "That's all we know so far, we just gotta wait for the doctor to see us again."

The Diva began to feel weak, so she quickly sat down while both Chris and Mickie tried to comfort her. "Oh God, oh God…why is this happening now? We're supposed to be getting married soon." AJ mumbled, burying her face in her hands as Chris roamed a soothing hand up and down her back. "I can't lose him, not like this…"

"Shh. Hey, we're just as upset as you are, sis, and we're praying that he'll make a full recovery. Alex is practically my brother, I just couldn't picture my life without him." Chris said, sniffling. "He's the one always getting me in trouble. I…just don't want trouble to find him. Not like this."

"Yeah, he's like the younger brother that I never had." agreed Mickie, wiping away a tear. "So stubborn and arrogant, but a total sweetheart at the same time. But you know what, he's a fighter, so I know that he'll be fine. He just has to be."

"We can't have the Guns without him." added Chris.

Soon enough, a doctor approached the three and AJ got up first. "I just got here as soon as my friend called me. How's Alex? Where's my fiancée?" she asked.

"Well, we looked at him in the ER and despite the extent of the car accident that he was in, he only came out of it with a few sprained ribs and a sprained arm." he announced.

"Oh, oh, ok, that's—that's good, it could've been way worse." AJ sighed, nodding.

"But the force of the crash was still pretty rough, and Alex hasn't woken up since the accident." he finished.

Her heart sank. "…Hasn't woken up?" she uttered.

"Wait, so are you saying that he's in some kind of coma?" Chris asked, worried.

"We're not calling it a coma just yet, but if he doesn't regain consciousness soon, then we'll have to assume the worst."

"How long do you think he's going to be out of it?" asked Mickie, wrapping an arm around a sobbing AJ.

"I'm not sure about that. Only time will tell." the doctor replied.

AJ let out a sob and asked, "What—what room is he in, I want to see my fiancée. I want to see him!"

"Room 342."

She rushed off first when Chris called, "Thank you, sir."

The brunette sped to her love's room, and once she slowly opened the door, she silently gasped upon seeing her fiancé lying almost motionless on the bed, with his arm wrapped in a sling and a few bandages wrapped around his forehead.

"Alex…" she whispered.

"He's…he's not moving." Mickie whispered, grabbing Chris's arm.

He sighed heavily. "Come on, Shelley, you gotta pull through for us, come on. You're our partner in crime, man. Stick around for your fiancée, at least." he said quietly.

After a few moments of watching their friend, AJ sniffled and turned to them. "Uh guys, could I have a moment alone with Alex? I want to talk to him."

"Sure—of course." they replied, giving her hugs.

"We'll be right outside, ok?" asked Chris.

She nodded and then turned to her fiancé, grabbing a chair and pulling it next to his bed. The Diva wanted to touch him in some way, but a part of her was afraid since he wasn't moving at all. The only sign of life was the beeping sound of the monitor beside him, anyway. Gathering some courage, she gently brushed her hand across his cheek, hoping that he'd at least stir a bit.

"Alex? Can you hear me?"

No reply.

"Please, just say something, babe. Give me a sign that you'll pull through this, ok? I—I can't do this without you. We're supposed to be getting married soon! I don't want to become a widow before I'm even married…" she began crying.

"Look, I know that we both agreed at first to just remain boyfriend and girlfriend, but to tell you the truth, Alex, I'm so glad that you asked me to marry you, because I've secretly wanted to marry you since the first day I've ever laid eyes on you. Nobody's ever cared about me as much as you have. Nobody's ever gone the extra mile to make me as happy as I am today, and nobody's ever had the courage to stand up to my father like you have. I remember what you said in your proposal, Shells. That we had so much in common that it was almost scary, and it's true! It's like—like you and I've met in another life or something. Anyway, you are the only man that I'd ever want, and I'm not leaving your side until you're cleared to leave the hospital, like you've never left my side." she paused, gazing at him. "God, I just wish you'd open your eyes and see how miserable I am seeing you this way. I want us to have a future together, Alex, I—I love you so much…" she began sobbing again, grabbing his hand.

Apparently, AJ's words were getting through to Alex in some way, because even though he hadn't stirred awake, he began dreaming a dream of his own…

_In an out-of-body experience, Alex, dressed entirely in white, slowly walked out of his own hospital room, but stopped and looked through the glass window, seeing the doctors trying to resuscitate his body back to life. The Detroit native glanced one last time before heading out into the empty, hallowed halls, seeing a door emitting white light in the distance. Whether or not the door symbolized life or death was a question burning through his mind, but either way, he was going to find out one way or another. He slowly walked towards the end of the hall and towards the door, when a hand gently touched his arm. He turned around to find Mickie, wearing a white dress._

"_Where are you going?" she asked._

"_I don't have a reason to stay." he replied, distant._

"_Please, Alex. Don't leave us. You're my brother and I need you. We need you." she replied._

_He looked at her. "I appreciate what you're saying. But trust me, I failed the love of my life and I'd only fail you guys. I love you, sis. But trust me, there's no reason for me to stay here anymore." he continued, walking ahead. _

"_So, is this it?" Chris asked, walking behind him and causing Alex to slow down to a stop. He also wore all white. "Look at me, man."_

_He turned around._

"_You really just going to give up like this? I'm really disappointed in you, Shelley." he said seriously. "You can't let one little accident do this to you."_

"_What else do you want me to do, Chris? Did you see me back in there? The doctors are in there trying to bring me back to life from a coma that I'll probably never wake up from! There's no point in me staying here any longer if I'm never going to wake up and see you guys again. I'll never see my family again, and worst of all, I'll never get to see April again. Trust me, this is the only way for me to go."_

"_Alex, you can't leave us, and you can't leave the Guns. You're my best friend in the world, man. You're my brother. How the hell am I going to just move on with another day without you around to cause trouble with?" asked Sabin._

"_You're resourceful, dude, I'm sure you'll find a way. I'll miss the hell outta you, buddy, but…I just have to go." he said, turning around and walking ahead._

_When he almost made it to the door, AJ's voice froze him in his tracks. "Stay for me."_

_He slowly turned around to find his fiancée wearing a dress that was extremely similar to her wedding dress. She smiled upon seeing him, and a small smile crept upon his face in return. She continued, "Don't leave me, Alex. I need you."_

_He looked back at the door and looked back at her. "April, I should've pulled through that car accident, but I didn't. I failed you. I have no choice but to go. You'll be better off without me."_

_She ran up to him and replied, "No, please don't!...I love you."_

_After hearing those three words, he turned around to face her again. "I've never stopped loving you. Babe, you can't just die on me when we're finally about to begin a new chapter in our lives. We're supposed to be husband and wife in a few days." she continued, as he smiled at her beauty. "We're not finished. Not by a long shot. And you know that in your heart, Shells. Please stay with me." _

_Once she held out her hand, he kept smiling at her and reconsidered his decision. His hand slowly inched towards her, and once their hands touched…_

AJ felt Alex's hand slowly squeeze hers, and she immediately looked up at her fiancé. "A—Alex?" she uttered, lighting up.

His chocolate colored eyes slowly opened to see his future bride's smiling/crying face and he smiled. "I'm not goin' anywhere. And we're damn sure not finished, either." he replied, to her delight.

"Oh my God…" she said, giving him a gentle hug and combing her fingers through his hair. "You came back to me! Oh babe, how are you feeling, do you remember who I am?"

"'Course I remember you. Why wouldn't I remember my beautiful, geeky fiancée?" Alex replied.

She giggled and gave him a light kiss before saying, "I will be right back, I have to grab Chris and Mickie and tell the doctor that you've woken up. Guys, guys, come in, Alex is awake!" she exclaimed in the hall, eliciting a light chuckle from the Detroit native lying in bed. So in a way, his dream was totally wrong. He had way too much to continue living for.


	145. Chapter 145

**Chapter 145**

The doctor finished checking on Alex and said, "My word! I expected for him to wake up eventually, but not this soon! This is indeed a miracle."

"So how long is he going to be in here?" asked AJ, while Chris and Mickie were in the room, too.

"Hmm…I say we keep him overnight just to make sure everything's all right, but I don't see why he shouldn't go home tomorrow." he replied, to the delight of the others. "Alex, just remember to get your rest and your injuries should be healed in no time."

"In time by say, April 7th? That's when Wrestlemania is." Alex said, smiling.

The doctor chuckled. "Sure. But remember to rest! I'll come back to check on things in a little while." he said, heading off.

"Aw man, talk about a change of events." Sabin said, grabbing Alex's hand in a brotherly bond. "Thank God you're gonna be all right."

"Yeah, Alex, don't ever scare us like that again!" Mickie cried. "We were terrified that we were going to lose you."

"You know, I almost thought that I wasn't going to make it, either. But while I was out of it, I heard a voice telling me to stay." Shelley replied, looking towards AJ. "I'm glad that I listened to that voice or else…who knows where I'd be right now."

"Well, I for one, knew that you'd make it. I wasn't going to let you leave this world without me." AJ said, laying beside him on the bed.

He wrapped an arm around her and kissed her forehead. "Believe me, I ain't going anywhere without making you my wife first."

"Aww, I'm gonna cry now." Mickie smiled, using a tissue to dab away her tears.

"Ok, so now that you're with us again, we still have to figure out who the hell did this to you." Chris announced.

"Chris, babe, the man just woke up, let's give him some time to rest first!" the Country Diva scolded him.

"No, Mickie, Chris has a good point. We have to know how the accident happened." said AJ.

"So Alex, do you remember exactly what happened?" asked Sabin.

He sighed and looked up at the ceiling for a moment, thinking. "Uh…well, I was on my way back to the hotel to give April her present, and then you called me. So after our conversation, I was about to hang up when I feel the car being jerked off of the road. Next thing I knew, I heard a loud crash and then I suddenly blacked out." he replied.

"Did you know if another car ran you off of the road or if the car did it on its own?" asked Chris.

"Uh…I don't remember. I—wait, no. I do remember something else. Before I blacked out, I looked around to see who the hell hit me and I remember seeing a dark blue or green car speeding off."

"What kind of car was it?"

"…A Mazda, I believe. I don't remember the license plate, but that's all I remember. I doubt the cops will be able to catch the guy, though." replied Alex.

"Well, let's not worry about that right now, Shells. I'm just so happy that you're back with me." AJ smiled, hugging him.

"I'm happy to be back, baby. And this experience has made me realize something. I've realized that life's short, and I just don't want to wait for anything anymore. Let's just get married right away, April." he announced, to her surprise.

"Alex!"

"I'm serious. Let's do it right now."

"Babe, as much as I'd love to marry you right here and now, I want you to be 100% before we do anything. The main thing is that you get your rest, and then we'll take it from there. Ok?" she smiled.

"Aww, fine, fine." he pouted, giving her a kiss. "Ah, those meds that they gave me are kicking in again. I'm gonna get a little shuteye and hopefully when I wake up again I'll be back home in the comfort of my own bed."

"Ok, baby, but you have to promise me that you'll wake up, ok? I don't want a repeat of before."

He held up three fingers. "Scout's honor."

"Good. I love you." she said, giving him another kiss.

"I love you, too."

Once the three headed back into the waiting room, Mickie said, "You think they'll let the three of us stay here with him all night?"

"Aw, it's ok. You guys can head back to the hotel and come back in the morning. I'll stay with him. But you know, something's been bothering me about the description of the car that Alex had just mentioned." the Diva said.

"What's bothering you about it? Wait, do you think you know who the car belongs to?" asked Chris.

She paused for a moment, deep in thought. "A dark blue or green Mazda—wait."

Flashing back to the day that her father had showed up to Alex and Chris's house, uninvited, she remembered seeing the car he pulled up in, a dark green 2005 Mazda Eclipse. "No way. I should've KNOWN it was him!" she cried out loud.

"Who?" the two questioned.

Angry that her suspicions were probably true, the brunette silently got up and rushed away.

"Wait, AJ, where are you going?" Chris called.

"Guys, I'll be back in a few. I gotta take care of something. Or someone." she called back, leaving her confused friends behind.

* * *

In a way, AJ was glad that they were all in Jersey when this happened, so that she could confront her evil father head on. The Diva pulled up to their old house, peering up at the house that had once had her, her brother, and her mother living there peacefully. Well, not anymore. Slamming the car door, she approached the place and saw that the front door was unlocked. Looking inside the now empty place, she felt a sour feeling inside, knowing that her father was the one who practically chased her entire family out of their own house, just because they feared him now. AJ slowly observed the place before sneaking into her father's cabinet, seeing his prized handgun that he'd kept hidden from everyone else but her. The Diva smirked a little, skillfully unlocking the cabinet and carefully taking out the gun. Since she was such a tiny Diva, the metal object was pretty heavy for her and a part of her felt uncomfortable for even holding it, but thinking again, she knew that this is what she had to do. In another room, Antonio was in his office but once he heard footsteps, his head shot up.

"Who is there?" he called.

AJ stood in the doorway, a blank expression on her face.

"Ah, April! I did not expect to see you here."

"Thought that we needed to have a little talk."

"I see. What do you want?"

"Well, when I got here, I just happened to see the front of your car a little bashed in. As if…you'd gotten into a little fender bender, or maybe, I dunno, rammed someone else's car from behind."

He raised an eyebrow. "Maybe I did get into a little accident a few hours ago. Don't worry, I am fine. Can't say the same for the other guy, though."

"Well, did you just happen to know that that 'other guy' just happened to be my boyfriend—no, FIANCE, Alex?" she questioned.

His eyes widened. "Fiancé?" he demanded. "April, you're going off to MARRY that little punk?! See, this is why I tried to get rid of him, and for all I care, I hope he doesn't make it!"

Right then and there, AJ whipped out the gun and pointed it towards him, when he shut up and slowly stood up. "Take back what you just said, daddy."

"H-How did you find that?"

"Oh, I always knew that you had this thing hidden around. Mom and Cristian had no idea, but I always knew, wondering why daddy would be hiding a gun around the house. But that's not the point. I should've known that you were the one who ran Alex off of the road. And just so you know, your pathetic little plan failed, because Alex is going to make a full recovery."

He snarled.

"Disappointed, huh? Listen, you are pathetic. Just because Alex and I are together, that means you have to make all of our lives a living hell?" she demanded.

"April, put the gun down, please. You do not want to do this." he said cautiously.

She felt the tears running down her face. "I never in my wildest dreams would ever imagine myself pulling a GUN on my own father!" she cried. "But you've given me no choice! You've forced Cristian to head overseas and risk his own life during the war, even when he didn't want to do it, and hell, that was BEFORE Alex and I even got together! So that just proves that you've been a sick bastard from the beginning! Now, let's move on to just last month, when I got the chilling phone call from my brother that my own _mother _was lying in the hospital because you had the nerve to put your hands on her. You were just doing it to send Alex and I a message, right? Well, she had absolutely nothing to do with any of this, and yet you decide to hurt her anyway! She had to move away somewhere else just to get away from you, because she's scared! She's terrified! And I don't blame her one bit."

He just looked at her, not saying a word.

"And have you noticed how quiet this house is now? Oh, that's right, nobody but you lives here anymore! This house used to be so full of life, but now it's just dead! Dead like you should be right now."

"April—"

"You better shut your damn mouth because I'm nowhere near finished yet. Now when I got ANOTHER disturbing call from my friend that my fiancé's been in a car accident and was in the hospital, I nearly died right where I was sitting. And once Alex told me the description of the car, that's when I decided to come right here. You've pulled off a lot of crap before, but now? Hurting my mother and trying to kill my fiancé? You've ruined my life, daddy, and I'd hate to do this, but you deserve every bit of what I'm going to do to you right now." AJ replied shakily, her finger on the trigger.

Antonio was shocked that his own daughter was really going to kill him, but before she could pull the trigger, Chris and Mickie arrived just and time.

"AJ, STOP!" Mickie exclaimed.

"What are you guys doing here?" she said, not facing them.

"Look, Chris and I figured out that your father was the one who ran Alex off of the road and we knew that you were going to come here to confront him." she said quickly.

"I know you're mad, sis, and you have every right to. But don't do this." Chris said calmly.

"Why the hell shouldn't I?" she asked.

"Because if you kill him, the only place you're going to wind up in is in jail. And you have way too much going on in your life to let that happen to you." he replied.

"Forget about this guy, AJ, you're going to get married to the man of your dreams any day now. Just forget about him. We already called the cops and they should be here any minute to arrest him." Mickie continued sympathetically. "Now before they get here, just hand me the gun before they get the wrong idea."

She shakily held the cold, metal object.

"Please, AJ. Hand her the gun. Killing him isn't worth it." Chris added.

The Diva looked down and slowly handed the object to Mickie, before breaking down in tears.

"Ok, ok, sis. We're here now and it's over." Sabin said while she cried in his chest. "You'll never have to worry about him again.

Once they heard the sirens outside and the cops rushing in to corner Antonio, the older man surrendered while they began to handcuff him.

"Get down on the ground! Hands behind your head!" one of them called.

The three watched as he was being taken away with his hands behind his back, and he glared one last time at AJ before hanging his head in defeat.

"It looks like we won't be seeing much of him anymore." Mickie announced, still glaring in his direction.

"Yeah. You all right, sis?" Chris asked AJ.

She used her sleeve to wipe away her tears and nodded. "I guess this is what you call closure, huh?" she replied, sniffling.

"I guess so. C'mon, let's get outta here and get back to Alex, ok?" asked Mickie, leading her traumatized friend out of a house that she once used to call home.


	146. Chapter 146

**Chapter 146**

The next morning, Alex was allowed to leave the hospital, but by orders of the doctor, he was only supposed to get his rest. The gang insisted that he rest back at home in Detroit, but he wanted to stay on the road with them and continue getting ready for Wrestlemania season. Plus, with him still in bed, it gave Mickie and Chris more time to plan the wedding.

While Alex was in the hotel's bedroom that same evening, he lazily channel flipped when AJ entered the room.

"April! You're WAY more exciting than TV!" he exclaimed. "C'mon, have a seat."

She laid next to him and rested her head on his chest, careful not to hurt his sore ribs. "So, how is my patient doing?" she asked, smiling.

"One hell of a lot better now that you're here. Listen, uh, I heard about what happened last night regarding you and your father."

"You must be pissed at me for not pulling the trigger, huh?" she asked.

"Not at all! Actually, I'm glad that you didn't."

She looked surprised. "You are?"

"Yeah. Baby, I know you were upset, but if you'd killed him, then I'd have to see you during those monthly jail visits, and the last thing I'd ever want to see is my beautiful fiancée behind bars. So even if you don't think so, you definitely made the right decision by letting the cops haul his sorry ass away." he replied, running his hand up and down her side.

AJ sighed. "I guess so. But Alex, I wanted to shoot him so badly after what he did to everyone lately. I was so angry…but I was scared, too. I never held a gun to anyone before, and I never wanted to grow up to be a killer. All I wanted to do was to avenge everyone he hurt, though, me, you, mommy, Cristian..."

"Hey, you did avenge us. If you, Chris, and Mickie didn't show up there, he'd still be running around causing us even more trouble." Alex replied. "I'm telling you, you did the right thing, and now you don't even have to worry about him anymore. He'll never bother us again."

She smiled. "I don't even want to think about him anymore. I'm just so happy that you're out of that damn hospital and you're going to be all right in time for Wrestlemania with the rest of us."

"Me too! But it'll be kinda hard for us to think about Wrestlemania with Sabin and Mickie going crazy with this wedding stuff. Seems like everything we're trying to tell them is just not getting through their thick skulls." he replied.

"_NO, you didn't tell me that the details on the cake would cost an extra $25 bucks, you idiot!" _Mickie screamed to a guy on the phone.

The two laughed.

"See, this is supposed to be stressing US out, not THEM!" AJ exclaimed.

"Well, you know what? I have an idea that'll take them both by surprise." he said, easing himself up.

"Really? What?" she questioned.

* * *

A little later, the happy couple joined their friends in the other room, wearing jeans, converses, and matching video game tees which read 'Smash. Slay. Save.' while Alex grabbed her hand as the two were rushing out of the place. Before they headed off, Chris exclaimed, "Whoa, where are you guys headed off so fast?"

The two smiled at one another before Alex announced, "Oh, we're just running away from our wedding."

The two stood there, shocked.

"Yeah, so you guys want to come with us?" asked AJ, still smiling.

Chris nodded and exclaimed, "WHOO, road trip! Where are we going?"

"Wait, wait, hold it!" Mickie exclaimed. "Why on earth are you guys running away?"

"Come on, girlie, we'll explain on the way!" she exclaimed, leading her out.

About an hour or so later, the four drove out to cruise around town, until they stopped at the one place that got them away from all the stresses of life - Gamestop.

"See, we've realized that the stress of this wedding is just getting to everyone, so maybe if we all stop here to look at what latest games are in, everyone will just mellow out a bit." AJ announced.

"Yes. I love the way you guys think." Chris smiled. "Hey, you think that new Harvest Moon game is finally in?"

"Damn it, dude, you're too old for that game!" Alex snapped. "What are you now, like 31?"

He grumbled. "Don't speak of it! Next thing you know, midlife crisis is going to kick in and I'll lament on how fast life has passed by and I'll be all depressed." he explained. "Besides, you're like, a year younger than me, so you have to deal with it, too."

"Yes, I AM a year younger, and when the time comes, I'll be 99 while you'll be 100 and have one foot in the grave-"

"SHUT UP, DIPWAD!" Chris snapped, trying to attack him.

"Haha, you can't silence me, you know it's true!" he laughed.

"Oh yeah, well if the time does come, you're going down with me!" he cried back. "I'll be sure of it."

"Will you guys stop fighting and realize that you're both young and handsome?" announced AJ.

"Thank you, that's exactly what I was going to say." Mickie nodded along. "Now, still, I don't feel right not being at home right now. What if someone important calls and-"

She took her hand. "Let it go, Mickie, we're here now to forget about wedding plans and to have a little fun. Now let's go, everyone!" she exclaimed.

Soon after, the four entered the place where a guy was just about to close up.

"Looks like we have this place all to ourselves." Alex announced.

"Oh, guys, I'm sorry, but we're just about to close." the employee said.

"Aw, man. Guess we'll have to settle for somewhere else." AJ sighed.

"Petland?" asked Chris.

"NO!" snapped Alex.

Soon after that, the manager of the place, a tattooed man who didn't look much younger than the employee, came out and said, "Evening, can I help you four around here?"

"Hey, we just came to check out the new games here, but he said that you guys are closing so we'll just head out." began AJ.

"Nonsense! I can just tell that you four are die hard video gamers and I love that!" he exclaimed.

"Well, three of us. They're still trying to get me hooked on them." Mickie chuckled.

"Well that's great! My name's Chuck, nice to meet you all. So what brings you all by this late at night?" he asked.

"Hey, Chuck, nice to meet ya, I'm Alex, here's my fiancée April Jeanette - AJ for short, and there are our friends Chris and Mickie. Anyway, we're all -*looks around*- on the run." Alex said with a devilish smile and a wink.

"Oh? Well, if you're running from the law, I don't think it's a good idea for you to be here."

They laughed.

"No, no, what he means is that we're on the run from our wedding." AJ clarified. "I know it sounds weird, but we just felt that we had to get away from it all and come to our little video game haven for a little down time."

"Exactly what she said." agreed Shelley.

"Oh wow, congratulations, soon-to-be newlyweds!" Chuck exclaimed.

"Thanks!"

"Y'know, I can picture you two getting married. It just seems to me that you have that special connection that not that many people have or understand."

The two looked at one another, surprised.

"Really?" Alex asked, smiling a little.

"Just curious, how do you know all this from just one look at us, sir?" asked AJ.

"Well, my wife and I have been married for 12 years already, and we're both video game loving geeks at heart. Not to mention that I'm actually an ordained minister, too."

"What?" AJ exclaimed with a smile, shocked.

"You're kidding!" agreed Alex.

"Hey, don't let the Harley outside and the tattoos fool you. I've married tons of couples before back at my family's church. Plus, my cousin Liam over here can vouch for me, right, dude?" he called to the employee.

"I don't know how he did it, but yeah, he's telling the truth." he called back.

"So wait, if you really are a minister, could you possibly be the one to marry these two?" asked Chris.

"Well, I don't see why not." he nodded.

April beamed at this and turned around to face her fiancé. "Alex, maybe this is it! What if this is fate speaking to us here? We both come to our favorite video game place, and meet a minister who's willing to marry us!" she cried with hope. "Maybe this is our time, babe, what do you think?"

He smiled at her and replied, "Well I think that the stars are aligned, the games are aligned, the skulls on your headband are aligned, and I think that I'm damn ready to finally make you my wife."

She laughed and wrapped him in a tight hug. "YAY!"

"But wait, don't you guys need a license to show him before he marries you guys?" asked Liam.

Their faces fell and Alex checked for any ID, but remembered that he left them at home. "Damn, I don't have anything on me."

"Oh, it's ok, babe, who could've known?" she replied.

"No, no, Liam, it's all right. If it's fate that brought them here, then I won't let em leave until they're happy." Chuck replied. "So how about it, guys?"

The two looked towards Chris, who gave them a thumbs up and a wink, and Mickie, who smiled brightly and nodded quickly. Then, they turned back to the owner.

"Well, looks like we're getting married tonight!" Alex announced happily, nodding his head while AJ beamed and wrapped her arms around him.


	147. Chapter 147

**Chapter 147**

Moments later, the gang was led to the back of the store outside, where they were shocked to find such a beautiful setting with cherry blossom trees and a few colored lights hanging from place to place, making the area glow and even sparkle a little. It looked even better at night.

"Oh, my God..." AJ whispered in awe, smiling. "It's perfect."

"This is incredible." Alex agreed. "But it's a video game store, so how'd you get all this set up back here?"  
"Oh, we had a mini Anime convention yesterday, long story, but it's still a great place for you two to tie the knot. So without further ado, shall we begin?" Chuck asked.

"Uh, one sec!" Alex said, approaching Chris. "Well dude, it's crunch time."

"Is sure is, bro, and I just have to say that I couldn't be happier for you, man. I'm glad to see that AJ makes you as happy as Mickie makes me." he agreed.

"Thanks, Sabin. Wow, we do have wonderful chicks, don't we?" he asked, looking towards AJ while Chris looked towards Mickie.

"We sure do. But now it's kinda hard to believe that the Motor City Machine Guns are now married men." he pointed out.

"Yeah, the fangirls are going to be heartbroken." Alex chuckled. "Anyway, dude, I'm just really glad that you and Mickie came with us, cause we couldn't have this wedding without you guys. And since you're my best bud in the entire world who's like my very own flesh and blood, I have a very important favor to ask of you."

"Sure, name it."

"You wanna be my best man?" he asked playfully. "It'll be fuuuuunn..."

He laughed. "You kidding, dude, of course!" he exclaimed, sharing a one armed hug with him. "Now go and marry your future bride!"

Meanwhile...

"I can't believe this is happening to me! I never thought I'd get married to the love of my life so soon and so fast!" AJ exclaimed to Mickie.

"Well, girlie, I can't believe that I have to cancel all those wedding plans that I worked so hard on." she smirked.

"Aw, Mickie, I'm sorry. I know you worked hard on them, but you gotta admit that you were as stressed about all this just as much as I was."

"Hmm...yeah, you're right!" she laughed. "Besides, the way that things turned out here is pretty romantic, too, and as long as you two are happy, then I'm happy."

"Oh, Micks, you're the best! And with that, I have to ask you something important."

"Sure, what is it?"

"Since you're my bestest friend in the entire world, would you do me the honor of being my maid of honor?" she asked, taking her hands.

"Oh, April, you don't even have to ask, I'd LOVE to be your maid of honor!" she exclaimed before the two shared a hug. "Now hurry and get married to your future husband!"

Soon after, the two joined Chuck when he asked, "Ok, you guys ready?"

They looked at one another and smiled.

"Yes." replied AJ.

"Yep." agreed Alex.

"Ok, you two stand over here." he said, positioning them so that they faced one another.

Alex sighed and shook himself off, letting out all his nerves and jitters as he smiled at his fiancée, eliciting a laugh from the tiny Diva.

"Ok, now my wedding practices may be a little unorthodox, but I'm sure you'll love the end result. So, let's begin. Alex, you represent the character Oswald from the Odin Sphere series, while April, you represent the character Gwendolyn." he continued. "Oswald was the shadow knight who was loyal, skilled, intelligent, and risked everything to save the love of his life, Gwendolyn. He, like you Alex, represents strength, bravery, selflessness, and masculinity." he said, while Alex kept smiling at his fiancée and lightly squeezed her hands.

He turned to AJ. "On the other hand, Gwendolyn was committed to her feelings for Oswald, and although she's made a few mistakes along the way, Gwen's love for him prevailed after she made the ultimate sacrifice to save him. She, like you AJ, represents courage, beauty, kindness, and femininity." he continued while the Diva smiled brightly and gazed into Alex's eyes.

"Together, those two are the ultimate sign of strength and beauty, and coincidentally, love was the thing that saved the both of them. Now, do you two have the rings?" he asked.

Stunned for a moment, Chris and Mickie looked at one another.

"Did you bring any rings?" he whispered.

"No, did you?" she whispered back.

"Uh, I have it covered." Alex announced, taking out the Aquamarine diamond ring that Lisa had given him, and April's eyes widened in shock. He began, "April, this ring belonged to your great-grandmother." he began, when she immediately began tearing up. "I was told by your mother that she and your great-grandfather had the love of a lifetime, literally being married for over 75 years. And when I heard that story, I was honored that she had given this to me to give to you, because I hope that this ring will keep you and I together for 75 years and even longer."

She kept smiling while the tears streamed down her face.

"My beautiful Geek, you've made me the happiest Gun this side of Detroit. I-I mean, I can't even begin to thank you for all of the sweet things that you've done for me, and to tell you the truth, I don't even deserve a gem like you. But hear this: I promise that once I become your husband, I'll keep being your savior, defender, and your hero until my time here is done, and my mission won't be finished until I see a smile on your face. You're my best friend, my lover, my partner in crime, and my princess. I love you so much, April Jeanette." he finished, wiping away her tears and slipping the ring onto her finger.

She sniffled and nodded before taking out a silver band from her pocket, the one the Alex's mother Rachel had given her. "Babe, this ring belonged to your uncle, the uncle that served in the Vietnam war." she began while Alex's eyes widened in shock. "Your mother told me that he and his wife had a love like no other, and they adored one another with everything they had, like you and I. They got married a day before he had to be deployed overseas, and while his wife waited and waited to hear from him...he never came back. They sent this ring back to her." she continued as he was speechless and tears brimmed his eyes. "And she told me that their love reminded her of the love that we share, and that they wanted for me to give you this ring in account for that." she said, slipping the ring onto his finger.

"Babe, you've never failed to come to my rescue when I needed saving, and you are truly my Knight in shining armor. Even when I was being so foolish and naive and childish, you looked past all of that and saw the best in me. When I felt worthless, you made me feel perfect. We connect on so many levels, Shells, and we have a bond that nobody can ever break. I promise that I will be the greatest wife that I could be, and I'll always be by your side to face whatever comes for us next. Most of all, I want to make you as happy as you've made me. Alex Shelley, you're my best friend, my lover, and my prince, and I love you so much." she finished tearfully while she wiped away the tears streaming down his face.

Chuck asked, "April Jeanette, do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish from this day forward, till death do you part?"

The tiny Diva smiled brightly and gazed into Alex's chocolate colored eyes, saying, "I sure do."

He smiled back while the owner continued, "And Alexander, do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish from this day forward, till death do you part?"

The Detroit native gazed back into her dark hazel eyes and replied, "You bet I do."

Next, he gestured to his cousin Liam, who handed the couple two swords while they held them in question. "Now, I want you to cross arms and knight one another over the heads with the swords that you're holding."

They both chuckled as their arms tangled together and they gently 'knighted' each other's heads like they were told.

"These swords represent indestructible strength, power, and immortality, as they will never break, much like the bonds of your love. Together, you are one unstoppable force that nobody can break. And at this moment, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You know what to do from there." he finished, as the couple had the biggest smiles on their faces. Alex brushed away a strand of her hair while her hands cupped the sides of his face and she pulled him down in a deliciously sweet kiss, while he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her as close to him as possible.

"All right!" Chris cheered, applauding for them along with Mickie, who smiled and wiped away a few tears. Alex and April broke away from their kiss, still smiling while they turned back to see their friends cheering for them. This was definitely a wedding to remember.

* * *

_**AN: Only five chapters left!  
**_


	148. Chapter 148

**Chapter 148**

It was the beginning of the month of April, and Wrestlemania 29 was a little less than a week away. It was also the day after Alex and AJ's wedding, and the two could still hardly believe that they were finally married after all they've been through over the last few weeks. At the arena, though, Wrestlemania fever was taking over the locker rooms…

In the Guns' locker room, Alex and AJ were busy making out, while Chris rolled his eyes and Mickie laughed.

"You know, they were even kissing on the car ride here." Chris announced, annoyed. "They were kissing in the showers together!"

"Sab, just be happy for them! They're finally a married couple, and they're just proving a point!" Mickie exclaimed, smiling.

"Yeah, but I think we get their point at this stage." he replied.

Meanwhile…

Alex broke away from their kiss, gazed at his new wife, and said, "Last night was amazing, wasn't it, Mrs. Shelley?"

She giggled upon hearing her new last name, and replied, "Oh, it was incredible. Our wedding night was exactly how I had always pictured it – a hot session of non-stop love making, followed by me beating you 10 consecutive time at Mega-Man."

"Aw, why'd you have to bring up you beating me at my favorite video game?" he pouted. "Hm, I'll let it slide this time, wife. I love you so much."

"I love you too, husband." she said, kissing him again.

"Ahem." Chris said, snapping the two out of their trance.

"What do you want, dillhole?" Shelley snapped.

"Well, if you gonna be like that, I guess we'll just take our well-wishes elsewhere!" Sabin snapped.

Mickie laughed and playfully hit him before turning to their friends.

"Look we just wanted to say how happy we are for you both!" Mickie exclaimed, hugging them.

"About damn time, too!" agreed Chris. "Good going, you two."

"Thanks you guys, we're just so glad that you two could be there to share this with us." AJ smiled.

"Hey, you guys were there every step of the way for our wedding, so we're more than happy to return the favor to you!" exclaimed the Country Diva.

"Now, since you two are married, allow us to give you your first wedding gift." Chris announced, handing the two a medium sized box.

"I don't know if I can trust anything from you, Sabin." Alex joked. "What if you put some kind or anthrax or rat poison in there?"

"Wow, why the hell would I try and poison you and your new wife the day after your wedding?! Just open the damn box!" he snapped.

"ANYHOO, I trust that you two will love it." Mickie added.

"Ooh, can't wait to see what this is!" AJ exclaimed as she and Alex ripped open the box to reveal a custom made comic book with them as the main characters.

The two gasped, smiling.

"What's this?" Alex cried.

"Oh my God, is this US?" AJ exclaimed. "Look, we're cartoon-like!"

"Yeah! How'd you guys do this?" he asked.

"Easy, we just paid the comic book emporium $300 to get it done and voila!" exclaimed Mickie. "Hope you enjoy!"

"Yeah, you better enjoy it, cause that $300 was MY money!" Chris agreed.

"Oh, guys, this is the most awesome thing you ever could've done for us, thank you so much!" AJ exclaimed, hugging them both.

"Yeah guys, you're the best, we'll keep this thing forever, and we totally gotta read through it tonight." agreed Alex. "So now, what are we going to do about a reception?"

"Yeah, I never even got to tell my mom or my brother that we're already married." AJ agreed.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Punk cried from the doorway. "Alex, AJ, you two tied the knot?"

They smiled.

"We sure did, last night to be exact." Shelley replied.

"Aw, wow! I didn't even know you two were engaged, congratulations!" he said, shaking his hand and kissing AJ on the cheek.

"Thanks, CM. And trust me, we would've invited you, and Britani and everyone, but the wedding just kinda happened on the spot at the back of a Gamestop that we were visiting." she replied.

"Getting married at Gamestop, hmm. Sounds strange, but it fits you guys, so I'm not gonna complain." he chuckled. "You two thinking of having a reception, anyway?"

"I dunno, man. Maybe, maybe not. We're back at work now and the next thing on all our minds is Wrestlemania in a few days." said Alex.

"Speaking of which, were you able to get another shot at the WWE title, Punk?" asked Chris.

"I have no idea, it's the General Manager's choice and since we don't have one still…"

"Wait, actually, I heard that we're supposed to be getting a new GM tonight." announced Mickie. "They'll announce it at the start of the show."

"Aw, sweet! I wonder who it'll be!" AJ exclaimed.

* * *

Soon enough, the show began and the crowd was anticipating who the new GM would be. After a few beats of silence, an all-too-familiar entrance theme began and everyone went nuts.

"_Youthinkyouknowme…On this day, I see clearly_

_Everything has come to life,_

_Bitter place, ad a broken dream_

_And we leave it all behind…"_

After the smoke cleared, the 2012 Hall of Famer, Edge himself arrived at the top of the ramp, to massive cheers from the crowd. The Canadian took in their cheers, nodded, and smiled before running and sliding into the ring, posing his signature 'Rock On' sign over the ropes. After a few minutes, his music died down, but the cheers were still roaring while some people chanted, "EDGE! EDGE! EDGE! EDGE!"

He kept smiling and looked around at the crowd's energy, before grabbing a mic and saying, "I'm _baaaaa—aacccckkk!"_

The fans cheered again.

"Long time no see, huh? Look, let's make a long story short here. Raw and Smackdown were MY shows, and when I turn on the TV and see that deadbeat son of a bitch Laurinitis' face every week on the screen, I throw up a little bit in my mouth! Jeez, I don't know how anyone can keep putting up with that guy! Well, once I hear that allegedly got arrested and hauled off to jail, I thought, 'Maybe this is my chance. Maybe this is my chance to come back to the place I've known and loved for the last 20 years of my life!'" he exclaimed, to more cheers. "And even though I'm still retired from in-ring action, it doesn't mean I can't make up cool matches and junk for you guys, right?"

"THANK YOU, EDGE! THANK YOU, EDGE! THANK YOU, EDGE!" they chanted.

"Aw, ok, I appreciate it, but thank me later cause we have a little event called Wrestlemania in just a few days." he said, as they cheered once again. "And trust me, the buildup for this year's matches have been phenomenal. So, without further ado, you guys sit back, enjoy the first match, and I'll be back in a few. Later, Edgeheads." he said, dropping the mic while the fans cheered in his favor.

Backstage…

"Aw, man, I can't believe Edge is back!" Mickie exclaimed. "I've missed seeing him around here!"

"Yeah, I was always a fan of his growing up." AJ smiled. "I never got to really meet him until tonight, though."

"Well, all I gotta say is that having him as the GM couldn't be a better choice." replied Alex. "I may not know him that well, but I have faith in the guy!"

"Well, I'm glad that you do!" Edge said, joining them.

"Hey, you!" Mickie exclaimed, giving her friend a hug. "Great to have you back here!"

"Hey, Mickie, hey, everyone. Punk, it's been a long time, man." the Canadian said.

He chuckled. "Fellow Money in the Banker. Nice to see you again, man." he chuckled, shaking his hand.

"Hi, Edge, I'm AJ, nice to finally meet you face to face!" the tiny Diva smiled, shaking his hand.

"I know who you are, and you are one of the best new Divas that this place has to offer, so I'm really proud of ya for stepping it up in the Women's Division with Mickie." he replied, before turning to Chris and Alex. "Machine Guns, Machine Guns. Great to finally meet you two."

They smiled back and each shook hands with him.

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet with one of the greatest." Chris replied. "Great to have you here as GM, man, we already know you're gonna do this place some good."

"Oh, and I intend to. Now I have to have a word with all of you for a sec. Being that Wrestlemania's literally right around the corner, I've had big plans for the tag team title match, the WWE title match, and the Women's title match this year. Now, since the tag titles had become vacant and Alex, Chris, since the fans love the hell outta ya and you've had a couple of phenomenal years here, I'm giving you two a shot at the titles again this year."

They lit up and exchanged smiles.

"Aw, dude, thanks!" Alex exclaimed.

"Yeah, thanks a lot! But who are our opponents going to be?" asked Chris.

"Oh, none other than a couple of old chums of mine, not to mention one of the most Extreme forces to grace the ring. That's right, your opponents this year are the Hardy Boys." he announced.

"Oh, dude!" the guys exclaimed, the smiles never leaving their faces.

"Yeah, both Matt and Jeff agreed for another reunion, and they've told me that they've wanted to face you two specifically." Edge replied. "And since the four of you are extreme daredevils, I only thought it'd be appropriate to make the match an Extreme Rules one."

Chris laughed triumphantly and jumped up and down while Alex smirked and had to calm him down. "Ah, this news just made our year! Thanks so much, man!" Shelley exclaimed.

"Not a problem. Now, CM Punk. We all know that you've had one of the longest WWE title reigns in history, and the fans really do miss seeing you with the strap. So how about this. I'll be nice and give you just one more title opportunity against Jericho at Wrestlemania, all right?"

The Straightedge Superstar smiled. "Dude, I knew I liked you for some reason."

Right then and there, Chris Jericho, with his title in tow, joined the group. "Ah, Edge, my fellow Canadian buddy. Nice to have ya back. So, who's my Wrestlemania opponent going to be this year? Someone who I can squash easily, I'm sure."

Punk turned to him. "Oh, you mean, like me?"

"Heh?" Jericho questioned, looking back and forth between Edge and Punk.

"Keep up with the news, man, it's Jericho vs. Punk, part two this year. Deal with it." Edge said.

"I—you-FINE!" Jericho pouted. "Whatever, either way, at the end of Sunday, this title's still coming home with Daddy. Later, dudes. Dudettes."

Mickie chuckled and rolled her eyes. "So Edge, for the Women's Championship this year, I was hoping to defend it against someone who's deserved a title shot all year and has had it wrongfully taken away from her a few months ago. I'd be more than honored to go one on one against my best friend AJ."

The tiny Diva lit up. "Mickie, are you serious?"

"Yes. Babe, you've deserved a title shot since like, forever, and I want us to put on one hell of a show on the Grandest Stage of them all."

"Oh, YAAAAYY!" AJ exclaimed, hugging her. "Thanks, Mickie, you have absolutely no idea how much this means to me. And I promise to give you a run for your money too, cause I won't go easy on you."

"I'm expecting it." she smiled back.

"Well, ladies, that sounds great to me, so I'll make it official and I'll announce everything to the crowd later tonight. Oh, and ladies, you two might as well give the fans a preview of your Wrestlemania match, cause you two are duking it out one on one in just a few, so go and get ready."

"You got it! C'mon, let's go." Mickie said, taking AJ's hand and leading her away.

Meanwhile, Chris was still excited about their title news. "Edge, you rock for this, I LOVE YOU!" he called.

As he was headed down the hall, Edge turned back and flashed him a confused look while Punk bursted out laughing and Alex nudged his friend. "Stop being an embarrassment and settle the hell down!"

"No, I'm happy, dillhole!" Sabin argued, shoving him back.

* * *

Later that evening, it was also revealed that Beth and Nattie would be defending the Diva's tag titles against the team of Britani and Kaitlyn at Wrestlemania, and the girls were stoked. Eve was formally Beth's partner, but the blonde ditched her for Nattie, and Eve was pissed that she was now kicked out to the cold and title-less. Now, AJ and Mickie were in the middle of their match…

The two Divas were evenly matched, trading punches every which way, and when Mickie tried to take the tiny Diva down with a roundhouse kick, AJ did a semi-Matrix move and dodged the attack, before retaliating with a swinging fisherman suplex. She went for the cover, but Mickie kicked out at two. AJ pulled Mickie back up by the hair, but before she could do anything, Mickie elbowed the Diva away and attacked with an arm trap neckbreaker, taking her down. Mickie went for the cover this time, but like before, AJ kicked out at two. When the Country Diva got back up, though, she was suddenly taken down from behind by an angry Eve Torres, who climbed over the older woman and began throwing punch after punch at her, as the jeers from the crowd grew.

"HOESKI! HOESKI! HOESKI!" they chanted.

AJ rushed to help her best friend by yanking Eve off of Mickie, but Eve then attacked AJ with a few rough kicks to the midsection. Picking her up and then picking Mickie back up, the Latina let out a scream before she was about to attack them both at the same time…

"_She's like a lost flower growing up through a crack, _

_In the busting sidewalk moving like a river so sad. _

_So hey where we going? Tell me where we've gone? _

_Was there love and fury, energy and passion? _

_So f**k your rules man. you'll step up, you'll go down fast._

_I've got to rid these of the s**t that has made up my past..."_

That's right, the one and only Lita sped down the ramp to save the two Divas as the crowd roared once again for the return of the Extreme Diva. Eve saw her and tried to run away, when Lita slipped into the ring, kicked the Latina in the midsection, and took her out with a Twist of Fate. With her lied out on the ground, Mickie and AJ smiled when Lita sent the two and the fans a wave, stood on the top turnbuckle, and leapt off with a picture perfect Moonsault, landing right on Eve's body.

"LITA! LITA! LITA! LITA!" the fans cheered.

The fans cheered at this while AJ was starstruck. She'd met Lita years ago when she was a teenager, but she had no idea she'd ever be in the same ring as her idol. Meanwhile, Lita grabbed a mic and told the two, "Sorry about her, guys, she's well…a fake. Her moonsault never owned up to mine. Anyway, Mickie, AJ, I've been a huge fan of your work lately, and with my old pal Edge being the GM, he called me back here to tell you some great news. Apparently, I get to be the Special Guest Referee for your title match this Sunday at Wrestlemania."

Mickie and AJ nodded in approval as the fans cheered again.

"And just so that things work out fairly and people like Eve don't interfere, we're also going to need a Special Enforcer. And this woman just happens to be a 7 time Women's Champion, too." the redhead replied, once everyone cheered, knowing exactly who she was talking about.

Right then and there, the lights shut off, before a silhouette of a woman appeared at the top of the ramp.

_"Hahaha...(Whoa!) It's time to rock & roll, _

_This time I'm in control, _

_Right now I own the streets, _

_I got the keys to the city that's cause I get down..."_

The fans chanted her name as Trish Stratus strutted down the ramp and pointed towards the crowd, before climbing into the ring and eying down Eve, who was now stumbling up. Mickie, AJ, and Lita urged her on, and Trish shrugged before sending the Latina back down with a Chick Kick. Lifting her back up, she shoved the frazzled Latina towards the Female Guns, where AJ superkicked her, followed by a superkick from Mickie, finishing off with a double superkick from the two of them and sending Eve out of the ring.

"THIS IS AWESOME! *CLAP CLAP CLAPCLAPCLAP* THIS IS AWESOME!" the fans cheered, while the four girls in the ring each exchanged handshakes and then stood on each of the four turnbuckles, posing for the crowd.

* * *

Backstage, the four women were still buzzing over what happened in the ring…

"Great work out there, ladies, you're making the Women's Division proud again." Lita smiled. "And AJ, I just can't believe how much you've grown since the day that I met you at that autograph signing."

She lit up. "You remember me?"

"How could I not remember the one girl who was sobbing uncontrollably just to be in my presence? Besides, I've seen you wrestle before and you are so impressive! I'm really, really proud of you for making it where you are now and for following your dream." Extreme Diva said sincerely.

AJ sniffled. "Oh, Lita, it means so much to hear that from you, thank you!"

"No problem, come here." she replied, giving her a hug.

"Well, Trishy. Nice to see you again." Mickie smirked.

"Ah, my former stalker. Oh, the good times that you and I had back there together, huh?" asked the blonde, smiling.

"We sure have. Look, I know we kinda left things on a sour note the last time, so uh, could I maybe do something to make it up to you?" the brunette asked.

"Sure, what do you need?"

As an answer, Mickie reverted back to old times and pulled the Canadian Diva in for quite a passionate kiss, earning a few wide-eyed stares from AJ and Lita. Chris stepped into the hall and caught his wife in a lesbian liplock with Trish Stratus, and he smiled, silently cheering, "YES! YES! YES!"

"GET in here!" Alex snapped, yanking him back into the locker room.

"Wow, Psycho Mickie's back, huh?" the redhead asked.

"Woo hoo, go, Mickie!" AJ cheered.

Once they broke away, Trish (surprisingly) had a satisfied smile on her face. "Well. Looks like you've still got it, Mickie. See you guys on Sunday." she replied, winking at her before heading off.

"Wow, Mickie, that was intense." AJ chuckled.

She smirked in reply and licked her lower lip. "Let's go and meet with our husbands, girlie. My business is taken care of."

AJ linked arms with her. "You really are psycho." she laughed.

* * *

**_AN: Hope you enjoyed the chappie. Anyway, just heard the news of Paul Bearer's passing last night, huge loss to the wrestling community as he was one of the greatest managers to ever step in the ring. Really hope that Taker dedicates his match to him at Wrestlemania this year as well. RIP, Mr. Bearer. :'(  
_**


	149. Chapter 149

**Chapter 149**

So on Friday and Saturday of that same week, the WWE crew had arrived to New York and New Jersey for Wrestlemania Axxess. This was the Guns first official WM axxess, and they had themselves one hell of a time. Aside from meeting the fans, Mickie and Alex tried their hands at the Wrestlemania Art show, and afterwards, he, Chris, and AJ all competed head to head in the WWE '13 gaming challenge, where AJ came out as the ultimate winner. That Saturday evening, everyone was getting ready to head to this year's Hall of Fame Ceremony, which also meant it was the night for everyone to get all dressed up for the occasion.

In the Guns' hotel room, Chris was staring at himself in the mirror and finishing up his look, which consisted of black jeans, black shoes, a white dressy top, a loose black tie, and an open black jacket.

"Mmm, mmm, mmm. Look at you, sexy." he told himself, smiling.

Mickie's laugh startled him from behind. "Chris, do you always have to say those things to yourself when you look at yourself in the mirror?" she asked, smiling.

"Well, uh, this time I was saying those things about you!" he exclaimed. "And my God, wife, you…you look amazing."

She wore a floor length royal blue colored dress that was one shouldered, and had a belt of diamonds around her waist. Along with black heels, her hair was down in a side ponytail that was draped across her shoulder.

"Thank you, husband, and you look dashingly handsome as well." she replied, before giving him a kiss.

"Thanks, baby. Y'know, it's nice finally being able to go to a Hall of Fame ceremony as a team without Alex's crazed stalker running after us, isn't it?"

"Oh my God, last year was a nightmare with that psycho creep!" the Diva replied. "Chasing us all around town just to prevent us from getting to Miami, what a little prick. Hey, I wonder if he's in the same jail as Laurinitis, Dave, and Del Rio?"

He chuckled. "Yeah, I wonder what happened to all of em, actually."

...

Somewhere, a few states away, to be exact, John Laurinitis was indeed in Shawshank Correctional Facility, currently making license plates as his job for the day.

"I can't believe I'm here doing this crap." he muttered. "I deserve to be in my office telling people what to do and making those Guns' lives miserable! If I ever get out of here, I'm going to make all of them pay, ALL OF EM!"

Once he saw towering shadows hovering over him, though, he stopped.

A few tall and beefy inmates eyed him down.

"Look, boys. Fresh meat." one of them replied.

"Uh—uh…no, no I'm not!" he cried.

Another one said, "We've never seen you around here before. Which makes you new meat!"

"No, please leave me alone, I'm just here doing my job!" he whined, causing the others to laugh.

"Look at this guy, he's crying!" another inmate said.

"No, I'm NOT!" he cried, inching away from them. He tried getting away from them, but bumped into a fourth inmate. He picked up the former GM by the collar and grumbled, "You know what we like to do to new meat around here?"

"N-No…"

"We like to show em what Shawshank's all about! Boys, let's take him to the showers, shall we?" he asked.

"YEAH!" they cheered, dragging the miserable Johnny Ace away.

"No, guys no, don't do this to me! NO, NOOOOO!" he screamed.

...

Meanwhile…

"Yeah, I bet Johnny's having himself a great old time!" Chris concluded with a smile. "So uh, babe?"

"Yeah?" replied Mickie.

"The other day backstage at Raw, I kinda saw you kissing Trish Stratus in the hallway."

She smiled. "Oh, did you? I was hoping that you saw! So, how'd you like it?"

"Babe, you were hot! I was just disappointed that you two didn't invite me for a threesome!" he chuckled.

"You're a naughty boy, you know that?"

There was a knock on the door. "Oh, the naughtiest. Hold on, let me see who's there." he said, answering the door to find the one and only Velvet Sky again. His expression turned to surprise. "Vel! Hey, come in. What are you doing here?"

The blonde smiled and entered the living room. "Hey, Chris and wow, don't you look handsome! The Hall of Fame Ceremony's tonight?" she asked.

"Yeah. So what's going on?" he asked.

"Chris, who's there—" Mickie froze once she locked eyes with her once-enemy. "Velvet. What are you doing here?"

"Hi, Mickie. Guys, I just wanted to say goodbye one last time. I've officially been cleared to wrestle and I'm going to be heading back to Impact." she replied.

"Oh, uh, well good for you." Mickie said with a nod. "I'm—I'm happy for you."

She nodded back. "You look really pretty, by the way."

"Thanks."

"Ok, Vel, this is all too strange, even for you. Why else did you come here?" asked Chris.

The blonde sighed. "Ok. I just wanted to apologize one last time to you guys for all the crap that I've put you all through. It was wrong of me to split you guys up in the first place, and by the looks of it," she paused, taking a look at the wedding ring that Chris was wearing, "Things look to be better than ever for you guys now. So I'm happy for you both. And Mickie, I know I've been a total bitch towards you and…I'm sorry. About everything."

"Wow, Vel, do you really mean it?"

"Yeah. If I hadn't come all this way to tell you, it'd be bothering me until I finally expressed my feelings. So, that's how I feel."

"Thank you, it's nice to hear that from you. And I admit, I haven't been an angel, either. So I'm sorry for being a bitch to you, too." the Country Diva said with a nod.

"Wow, this is a revelation." Sabin said, smiling.

Velvet chuckled. "Hey, I'm a changed woman, ok? Anyway, I better get back to the airport to catch my flight. It was nice seeing you guys again."

Mickie smiled and sent her a wave, while Chris gave her a hug. "Have a safe flight, ok? Thanks for coming to visit." he said.

"No prob. You guys have a great life together, ok?" the blonde smiled, heading off.

"Wow." Mickie said, crossing her arms. "This was probably the first time in months that she and I actually had a civil conversation without hair pulling and scratching."

Chris laughed. "Thank God. But still, you gotta admit, it was real nice of her to come all this way just to make things right with us."

"Yeah, I admit, it was pretty classy of her. But still, this whole mess with her that began in the first place, let's just leave it as a funny memory, kay?"

"I like funny memories." he smiled, giving her another kiss. "C'mon, let's go meet up with Shelley and AJ down in the lobby and then head to the ceremony."

Once he opened the door again, though, none other than Randy Orton stood there, with that same, sadistic smile forming on his face once he saw Chris again. "Hi, Chris. Remember me?"

He paled. "Uh, Mickie? Why is the Devil incarnate standing by our door?"

She looked ahead and replied like it was no big deal, "Oh, hey Randy! You look good, nice seeing you again."

"Same to you, Micks!" he called back, before turning his stare back to Chris.

"Orton, I-you-WHAT are you doing here?! I thought you weren't supposed to be in this whole damn story!" Sabin cried.

He chuckled. "I was around, you just didn't see me. Plus, I'm mainly on Smackdown, so that's why."

"Well, why don't you head BACK to Smackdown before the traumatizing memories of you start rushing back into my head. Now shoo, shoo!" Chris cried, waving his hands Randy's way.

"Chris, you can't just get rid of me when I haven't seen you in so long, buddy. Now come on, give your old pal a hug."

He quickly shook his head. "I didn't ask for any of this, I really didn't." he muttered to nobody in particular.

Randy inched closer towards him while Chris began to back away. "Come on. Give me a hug..."

"No!" he cried back, cowering in fear.

"Give me a hug-DAMN IT, GIVE ME A HUG!" Orton snapped charging ahead.

"No, NO!" Sabin cried, shielding himself.

* * *

Meanwhile, Alex and AJ were downstairs in the lobby admiring themselves in the mirror at the same time. He wore a dark red dressy shirt, a black tie, and a black leather jacket, along with black jeans and dark red shoes. His hair was combed back a bit, but still had traces of his signature Mohawk, too. AJ wore a Mohawk/ponytail, along with a dark red and black sequined party dress that hugged all her curves and ended above her knees, and she finished it off with a pair of dark red colored converses.

"Wow, babe, we make a damn good looking couple, don't we?" Shelley asked, admiring both his and his wife's reflections.

She laughed. "We sure do! So, you think they'll let me in wearing converses? I know it's supposed to be a formal event, but I hate wearing heels."

"Ah, they're not gonna kick you out for wearing sneakers! They'll be too much in awe with that beautiful looking dress of yours." he smiled, earning a blush from her. "Now as for me, I hope they'll allow leather jacket wearing dudes like me in."

"Why wouldn't they? You're too sexy to ignore, husband." she smiled, leaning up to give him a kiss. "Alex, I can't believe things are finally going perfect for the two of us. I mean, after that car accident of yours, I was so afraid that I'd lose you and now look at us. We're finally husband and wife."

"I can't believe it, either. After that accident, just the thought of never seeing everyone I care about ever again was just…unreal. But if it weren't for you bringing me back to the land of the living, I don't know where I'd be right now." he smiled, turning to her. "So, how'd your mother take the news once you told her that we kinda got married out of the blue?"

"Well, she was ecstatic, of course, but she wished that she could've been there to see it. I do feel a little guilty for not letting our folks know."

"Yeah, that's kind of been bugging me, too." he replied.

"Really? How'd your folks take the news?"

"Oh, they were stoked that we got married, cause now you're officially part of the family and they love ya." he paused. "...Hey, maybe our families can see us get married."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Maybe sometime in the future, hopefully on our…I dunno, 25th anniversary, we could renew our vows and invite everyone. What do you think?" Alex asked, taking her hands.

"Oh, Shells, that sounds wonderful." she smiled. "I'd love to spend the next 25 years with you."

"And I, you, baby. I love you so much, Mrs. Shelley."

"And I love you too, Mr. Shelley." she replied, giving him a kiss. "So, the next thing we need to do after Wrestlemania is worry about where we're spending our honeymoon."

"Hmm, that's a great question."

Just then, Chris and Mickie joined the two. Well, Chris ran in the room, screaming, with Mickie calmly following.

"HELP ME!" Sabin cried, looking over his shoulder to see if Randy was anywhere behind him.

"Hey, guys, ready to get going?" Mickie asked, smiling.

"Yep, we are, but...what's wrong with Chris?" AJ questioned, smiling a bit.

"Oh, Randy Orton stopped by." she replied.

Alex's eyes widened and he backed away. "That lunatic managed to find you, Sabin? Oh now that means he'll be after me next, and I CANNOT deal with him again after he tried to rupture my trachea the last time!"

"Oh forget about your trachea, psycho Orton tried to HUG me!" Chris snapped.

"Well what's so wrong about that?" asked AJ.

"He wouldn't let go!" he exclaimed. "I had to kick him in the freakin' leg in order to get away from him. Now I don't know where he is now, so we better amscray before HE emerges again."

"Oh, what do you mean 'HE', I have a name!" Randy snapped, suddenly popping out from behind a plant, scaring the piss out of both Alex and Chris.

"AAH!" they shrieked, grabbing both Mickie and AJ and hurrying them out of the room.

"Move, MOVE, he's gonna kill us!" Chris exclaimed.

"Wait! All I wanted was a hug, COME ON!" Randy called, casually following them.

* * *

The next day was Sunday, April 7th, and the day of the 29th annual Wrestlemania held in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and the Metlife Stadium was jam packed for the yearly event. Edge being the General Manager only brought good things for the Guns and their friends, as Alex and Chris were stoked to be facing the Hardys in a tag team Extreme Rules match for the tag titles, and AJ and Mickie were really looking forward to competing for the Women's Championship. They felt extra secure with Lita as the special guest referee, and Trish Stratus being the Special Enforcer if Eve or anyone had come to try and ruin the match. Now, the Guns were in their locker room, preparing for the evening…

"Well, Guns, it's crunch time once again." Alex announced, lacing up his boots. "You ladies ready to put on a show out there for that shiny title?"

Mickie polished her title, while AJ couldn't stop staring at it.

"Well, I can tell that AJ definitely is, due to the fact that she hasn't stopped looking at me or my title all day!" she exclaimed, smiling.

"Sorry." she said quickly, going on to do her stretching. "It's just, whenever I want something, I just happen to stare. A lot."

"It's true, she stares at me all the time." Alex said, chuckling.

"Oh, are you saying that my staring at you is a BAD thing, Shells?" she asked, turning to him.

"No, not at all, babe! I love it when you stare at me, I—" he began. "Oh yay, our good pal Chris is back, hi, Chris!"

"Uh, hi?" he said, glancing towards Alex. "Anyhoo, delivery! Red Bulls for everyone!" he cheered, mostly glad because Randy had been too busy with his match to assault him in any way.

"Hoo Rah!" AJ exclaimed, taking one. "Thanks, bro."

"Thanks, babe." Mickie smiled, giving him a kiss. "So, have you seen any sign of the Hardys out there?"

"Not yet, I've been out there looking for them and I was going to try and ask them not to, y'know, kill us out there with tables, or, y'know, squish us with ladders." Sabin replied, twiddling his thumbs.

Alex scoffed. "You wussy."

"Oh shut up, you won't be saying that once you're sandwiched between two ladders and crying for mercy!" he argued.

"Ooh, that's an idea that we could use." a familiar Southern voice said.

The two looked to their doorway to find Matt and Jeff Hardy.

"Hey, guys, we just wanted to wish you a good match out there, I think the four of us are going to put on one hell of a show." announced Matt.

"Plus, that ladder idea that you've just mentioned, we just might take that from ya." Jeff agreed with a smirk.

"Hey, I thought we were all supposed to be friends here!" Chris whined.

"Dude, we can still be friends! But when the tag titles are involved, there's no friendship allowed between opponents. Anyway, you better be prepared to go against one of the best. Later." Jeff replied, heading off with his brother.

The Guns, in the meantime, gulped simultaneously.

"Dude, give me that Red Bull." Alex said quickly, guzzling it down.

"That was mine." he replied, glaring at him.

"Guys, just calm down, all right? Two of the greatest tag teams are facing off in an Extreme Rules match, this is just as much your territory as it is theirs, so you two won't have a problem!" Mickie announced, approaching Chris, while AJ approached Alex.

"She's right, just go out there and give it your best. Just remember that win or lose, we're still your wives and we love you." she agreed, kissing Alex.

"But what if we lose? Does that mean there's no post-match celebration sex?" Chris said with a pout.

"Exactly." Mickie agreed, kissing him as well.

"Aww!" the Guns groaned.

"Well, come on, Sab, we better go out there and impress our wives or else…no nookie." Alex muttered.

"Damn it, you don't have to mention it again, hearing it once was painful enough." Chris muttered back while the girls laughed.

"Good luck!" called AJ.


	150. Chapter 150

**Chapter 150**

Soon enough, the tag title match was about to begin. Oh, and with Edge as the new GM, he ordered for the World Tag Team Championships to be brought back instead of those current penny looking ones. The competitors weren't complaining about that!

_"Hundred miles an hour on a dead end road_

_I need a little Detroit in my soul_

_Every night's hotel a different name_

_It's part of the game_

_Everybody wants to be just like me_

_Fame and fortune is their fantasy_

_I gotta get back where the life was pretty_

_Rockin all the way to the Motorcity_

_Motorcity, motorcity, motorcity, I'm rockin' all the way to the motorcity..."_

The fans roared as the Guns theme played, as Lillian announced, "This Extreme Rules match is scheduled for one fall, and it is for the World Tag Team Championships! Approaching the ring first from Detroit, Michigan, the team of Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin, the Motor City Machine Guns!"

Alex and Chris revved down the ramp and towards the ring on two motorcycles, before climbing into the ring and posing for the crowd over the turnbuckles as they continued cheering for their favorites. The tag titles were in their favor once again, and they were totally prepared to face whatever obstacles were in store for them. Soon after, the Hardys' theme music blasted through the arena as the fans were equally excited for their return, too.

_"Don't you see the writing on the wall _

_(Don't you see the writing on the wall), _

_You're way in over your head, _

_you're gonna drown in the things that you said, _

_Time has come and gone for words, a thousand threats I've heard before, _

_but words are cheap, but lies are faint to me..."_

"And their opponents, from Cameron, North Carolina, the team of Matt and Jeff Hardy, the Hardy Boyz!" Lillian exclaimed as the Extreme duo made their signature poses at the top of the ramp before slapping the fans' hands at ringside and then climbing into the ring. After posing over the turnbuckles, they eyed down the Guns as the Guns eyed them down and both teams already knew that they were in for one hell of a match. Once the ref held up the World Tag Team Titles, both Chris and Matt both stepped in the ring first, starting things off for their respective teams. The two slapped hands as a show of good sportsmanship, before locking up.

The two men tried to power the other down, before Chris got the upper hand with a rough kick to the midsection, followed by a springboard tornado DDT. He went for an early pin, to where Matt kicked out at two. Slowly getting back up, the older Hardy got his revenge with an inverted DDT, taking the younger man down. Before he could go for the cover, Alex ran in to break the pin in a desperate maneuver, but once he stepped in, Jeff leapt in and shoved the Detroit native off of his brother. Soon after, all four men made it back to their feet and the two teams faced one another as the fans cheered in reply. The Guns eyed their opponents down and nodded, while Matt smirked and Jeff clapped his hands. After that, the Hardys looked at one another before simultaneously throwing punches towards the Guns, as the Guns fought back by throwing punches back at the older men.

Once the trading of the punches stopped, Jeff grabbed Alex and swung him towards the ropes, while Matt did the same with Chris. When the Guns bounced back and were on their way back to attack the Hardys, they retaliated with simultaneous dropkicks to the Guns, sending them down. Once the Guns made it back to their feet, Chris targeted Matt with a few punches, followed by a tiger suplex, as Alex targeted Jeff with a cross-legged fisherman buster. Now that the Guns were on top, they both approached Matt for one of their many double team maneuvers, dragging him to the corner ringpost and positioning him upside down in the Tree of Woe.

After that, Alex attacked the prone Hardy first with a baseball slide to his chest, followed by a hesitation dropkick by Sabin. But with the Guns backs' turned, they didn't see Jeff reach under the ring and whip out a kendo stick, first whipping it across Chris's back, causing him to kneel down in pain. Alex whipped around to see what the hell was going on, but didn't get a chance once he was hit in the midsection with the near broken kendo stick, sending him down in pain, too. To keep up their momentum, both Hardys got back to their feet and lifted Shelley over their shoulders and took him down with a devastating suplex, and they soon repeated the move with Sabin. Moments later, Jeff covered Alex while Matt covered Chris, but both Guns managed to kick out at 2.

With the smaller men still down, Matt and Jeff looked at one another and had the same idea once they climbed under the ring and brung out two ladders, as the cheers from the fans grew louder. Before they could slide them in the ring, they didn't get a chance to react once both Guns simultaneously leapt over the ropes with no-handed suicide dives, landing on their opponents and the ladders at the same time. All four competitors were hurting already, but Chris and Alex got up first and dragged the two ladders in the ring with them. Before they could use them, though, both Matt and Jeff rushed into the ring and threw another slew of punches and kicks towards the younger men, trying to take them down. Once they were out of the way, Matt quickly positioned one of the ladders against the corner ringpost, and when Chris saw him there, he sped towards him. He was unable to connect with him, though, because once Matt rolled out of the way, Sabin crashed back first into the ladder. Jeff swung Alex towards Chris as well, and when Matt kneeled down, Jeff captured the energy from the crowd and then ran across the ring, stepping over his brother's back and crashing into both Guns with a Whisper in the Wind.

Both Guns slid to the ground while Jeff held his back in pain, but Matt helped him up before going back under the ring and taking out whatever he could find – tables, kendo sticks, steel chairs, steel garbage cans, etc. Once he grabbed a steel chair and climbed back into the ring, the steel chair connected right back into his face once Alex superkicked the chair back at him. With him out of the ring, Alex climbed out and kicked his opponent down a few times, before taking the table, dragging it to the other side of the ring, and setting it up. When he soon saw the older Hardy approaching him, Alex fought back by backing up, standing on the steel steps, and then running, sliding over the table, and taking Matt out with a surprise delayed dropkick.

In the ring, Jeff picked Chris up and was about to capitalize with a Twist of Fate, when Sabin countered with a cross-legged Samoan driver. Going for the pin, the younger Hardy kicked out at two. Next, the Detroit native climbed out of the ring and decided to grab the garbage can, tossing it into the ring. He slid back in and dragged the younger Hardy to the corner ringpost and positioned the can right in front of him, and before he could attack back, Sabin attacked with a double leg drop, smashing the steel can into Jeff's midsection. He pulled him out from his corner and went for the pin once again, but like the last time, Jeff managed to kick out at two.

Meanwhile, Alex and Matt were duking it out at ringside, with Matt nearly going for the Side Effect, when Alex tried to counter it into the Sliced Bread #2, but instead, the two began trading punches again. Once Matt swung towards the Detroit native, Alex dodged the throw and quickly grabbed another ladder from under the ring, setting it up as quickly as he could beside the table. Before he could do anything else, Matt attacked back first with a Northern Lights suplex, and the placed the weakened Machine Gun over the table. Smirking at this, he then began to climb the ladder, but he didn't make it that high once Chris slid out of the ring and pulled him down by the leg, causing him to land pretty hard on the ground. He rushed to Alex and tried to get him off of the table, but didn't see Jeff staggering out of the ring and towards the ladder.

The cheers grew louder once the Enigma began climbing to the top of the ladder, and before either Chris or Alex could get away, Matt held both Guns down. Once Jeff reached the top of the ladder, he once again captured the energy from the crowd and he posed his 'Gunz' sign, before leaping off of the 15ft ladder, landing on both Guns and sending the three of them crashing through the table.

"OH!" the crowd exclaimed in awe.

At this point, Jeff, Alex, and Chris were writhing in pain at the feeling of being smashed through a table, and the ref had to check them to make sure that they'd still be able to finish the match. Since the match was still for the titles, Jeff slowly managed to cover Chris while Matt covered Alex, but by some miracle, both Guns were able to kick out at two and a half. Then, Matt grabbed one of the objects that none of them had used yet, a steel chair. He approached the Guns and was about to attack them with it, when Chris sprung up and performed an enzuigiri, taking down both Matt and the chair. In retaliation for both him and Alex being put through a table, Chris began whacking the steel chair over the older Hardy's back several times, while he kneeled down in pain. While this was going on, Alex managed to get back up and help his partner in taking down their opponent, and once they saw one of the ladders in the ring, the Guns had a great idea.

Chris rolled the older Hardy into the ring and positioned him over one of the ladders. While he held it upright, Alex quickly climbed to the top of the turnbuckle and leapt off with a diving crossbody onto Matt and the ladder. The older Hardy cried out in pain while Alex went for the cover, but somehow he kicked out at two and a half. After that, Jeff made his way back into the ring, but before he could attack, Chris quickly grabbed the second ladder and climbed up the top of the opposite ringpost, with the ladder positioned opposite him. With Jeff right where he wanted him, Chris leapt off with the ladder, causing the weapon to land right onto the midsection of the Enigma. While he was writhing in pain, Matt managed to get back up and decided that he had to avenge his little brother. By doing this, he first attacked an oncoming Alex with a Side Effect, before positioning the Detroit native between one of the open ladders. Finally, the older Hardy climbed over the top turnbuckle, leapt off, and landed right over the Detroit native, who was crushed underneath the ladder.

Sabin saw his partner getting crushed, and sent a glare Matt's way, while he did the same. After that, Chris rushed to grab the steel chair, while Matt quickly slid underneath the ring to grab one as well. The two then began swinging the chairs towards one another, trying to take the other down. Jeff and Alex somehow managed to stagger back up and grabbed steel chairs of their own, and joined in on the chair swinging match, as the fans chanted, "THIS IS AWESOME! *CLAP CLAP CLAPCLAPCLAP!* THIS IS AWESOME!"

With the match winding down now, the Hardys kicked both Guns in the midsections, and they stumbled back a bit, before the Guns fought back with double enzuigiris, taking them both down. Before they could go for the cover, Matt managed to get up and take both Chris and Alex out with Twist of Fates, positioning them next to one another and allowing Jeff to climb the top turnbuckle for a Swanton Bomb. He posed his 'Gunz' sign again before leaping off, but instead of connecting, the Guns raised up their knees, stopping Jeff's momentum and connecting with his sore back. Matt tried to attack the Guns as revenge, but they were one step ahead once both Sabin and Shelley took the older Hardy down with a sitout powerbomb by Sabin and a Sliced Bread #2 by Shelley at the same time. With him out, Alex covered Matt while Chris covered Jeff as the ref counted, "1…2…3!"

The fans went wild once again, seeing their favorites win the gold once more on the Grandest Stage of them All, and they were also happy to see such an amazing match between two amazing tag teams. Alex and Chris, although bruised and battered, pounded the ground in triumph as Lillian announced, "Here are your winners and the **NEW **World Tag Team Champions, the Motor City Machine Guns!"

The now two-time champs shared a hug, before turning to the Hardys and helping them up to their feet in another show of respect and good sportsmanship. The Extreme Duo shook hands with their opponents when Matt told them, "Hey, great battle, boys, looks like the better team won."

"Hey, you guys put up one hell of a fight." Chris replied as the ref handed he and Alex their titles. "And you two are the first who deserve a rematch for these babies, cause we sure as hell would love to duke it out with you guys again."

"Damn right. Time and place, you name it, we'll be there." agreed Alex.

"We'll take you up on your offer, dudes." Jeff smiled, before the two held the Guns' arms in the air, allowing them to stand over the turnbuckles to celebrate their win with the fans. This was definitely a Wrestlemania moment for two of the greatest tag teams in the world, after all, and this was just the beginning.


	151. Chapter 151

**Chapter 151**

Backstage after the Guns' title match, their friends had congratulated them on their win, and both Mickie and AJ were planning a celebration for their husbands later on. But before anyone could celebrate, it was now time for the girls' title match, which was just about to begin now…

"_She's like a lost flower growing up through a crack, _

_In the busting sidewalk moving like a river so sad. _

_So hey where we going? Tell me where we've gone? _

_Was there love and fury, energy and passion? _

_So f**k your rules man. you'll step up, you'll go down fast._

_I've got to rid these of the s**t that has made up my past..."_

As Lita (in her referee's shirt) headed down the ring, the fans roared for the Extreme Diva as Lillian announced, "This match is scheduled for one fall and it is for the Women's Championship! Approaching the ring first is the Special Guest Referee, Lita!"

The redhead signaled towards the fans before sliding into the ring and posing to the crowd over the top turnbuckles. Soon after that, the Guns' theme was heard around the arena as AJ was the next to come out.

_"Hundred miles an hour on a dead end road_

_I need a little Detroit in my soul_

_Every night's hotel a different name_

_It's part of the game_

_Everybody wants to be just like me_

_Fame and fortune is their fantasy_

_I gotta get back where the life was pretty_

_Rockin all the way to the Motorcity_

_Motorcity, motorcity, motorcity, I'm rockin' all the way to the motorcity..."_

Standing at the top of the ramp, she posed her 'Guns' sign before skipping down the ramp and slapping the fans' hands as they roared for the tiny Diva. "Approaching the ring next from Detroit, Michigan, AJ!" she exclaimed.

The Diva slid into the ring and posed over the turnbuckles, while Lita smiled at her fan and nodded. Once AJ stepped down, she smiled and gave Lita a hug before waiting for her opponent.

_"Hey, hey, can't you see?_

_I'm a rockin southern girl runnin' wild and free_

_Hey, ya'll walkin' through the door_

_High-class style country to the core_

_HARDCORE COUNTRY!_

_Back woods or uptown_

_HARDCORE COUNTRY!_

_Rockin' your world with a thrillbilly sound_

_Hills and stones_

_Junior and Jones_

_One thing I'll always be_

_HARDCORE COUNTRY!"_

Mickie's theme music was heard around the arena next as the crowd gave the Country Diva another huge pop and she skipped down towards the ring, with her title proudly slung over her shoulder and she slapped the fans' hands at the same time. Lillian continued, "Next, approaching the ring from Richmond, Virginia, she is the current WWE Women's Champion, Mickie James!"

The Diva slid into the ring and held up her title for the crowd to see, before slapping hands with AJ and with Lita. Finally, Trish Stratus' theme music was heard last as the fans continued cheering for the Canadian Diva.

_"Hahaha...(Whoa!) It's time to rock & roll, _

_This time I'm in control, _

_Right now I own the streets, _

_I got the keys to the city that's cause I get down..."_

"And finally, approaching the ring from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, she is the Special Enforcer of tonight's match, Trish Stratus!" Lillian finished.

The buxom blonde acknowledged the fans on her way down to the ring and posed for them once she climbed inside. Slapping hands with the three other women in the ring, Mickie and AJ were about to face off when Edge's voice was suddenly heard on the Titantron. "Hold on a sec, folks, fold on…" he said, to even more cheers from the crowd. "All right, so I just got to thinking and I just had a feeling that this match would be even more exciting with a little stipulation. Mickie, AJ, how would you like to face off in a Falls Count Anywhere match?"

The Divas smiled and nodded in reply.

"Awesome, make it happen! Have a good fight." he smirked, before the screen faded to black.

Lita made sure that both women were ready before calling for the bell, and with Trish staying at ringside, both Mickie and AJ slapped hands in respect one more time before the best friends locked up. After trying to gain the upper hand on one another, Mickie capitalized first with an arm trap neckbreaker, followed by a bridging cradle suplex. Going for an early pin, AJ kicked out at two.

When Mickie pulled the tiny Diva up by her hair AJ fought back with a rough kick to the midsection, followed by a springboard takedown and then a tilt-a-whirl DDT. She wanted to show Mickie that she was indeed a tougher competitor than she looked, and Mickie inched back towards the corner ringpost, wide eyed and trying to regain her composure. She surely didn't expect this from her best friend. With her cornered, AJ sped towards her, but Mickie rolled out of the way just in time for AJ to crash into the corner turnbuckles. Keeping up the momentum, Mickie gave her a roundhouse kick to her back, sending her sliding down. Mickie tried to pin her via-roll up, but AJ kicked out at one.

After that, Mickie needed a moment to collect her thoughts and mentally plan out what she was to do next, but had no time to think once AJ managed to clothesline her friend over the top rope and out of the ring. Trish checked to make sure that she was all right, but quickly backed away once AJ leapt over the ropes with a suicide plancha, landing in Mickie's reach and taking them both down to the ground as the fans kept cheering. With AJ over the Country Diva's body, Lita rushed out and went for the three count, only for Mickie to kick out at two. Moments later, the two slowly got back up and when AJ was about to capitalize on Mickie, the Diva reacted first by kneeing her in the midsection and then tossing her into the crowd barricades. The tiny Diva tried getting back up, but Mickie beat her to the punch by first tossing her over the crowd barricades and into the audience area, to where AJ held her lower back in pain. Mickie, with Trish and Lita in tow climbed over the barricades and joined her, and Mickie attacked her friend by hitting her over the back with one of the steel chairs.

AJ yelled out in pain, but kept using all the strength she had to crawl away. She didn't get too far, though, once Mickie led her towards another crowd barrier and tossed her right into the metal wall. April cried out again and tried to get away from the Country Diva, when Mickie grabbed her and led her to the stage area, to where she kneed her in the midsection and then turned around to pose for the fans. With her back turned, though, she didn't see AJ grab one of those large safety cones that was lying around, and the little Diva forcefully rammed it into the older Diva's back.

"AH!" Mickie cried, falling to her knees. AJ took this opportunity to go for the pin, as Lita began to count, but Mickie kicked out at one and a half.

Next, Mickie dragged AJ against a crate and set her against it, while throwing a slur of punches and kicks at the younger woman. With her down, Mickie backed up a bit and ran for her, but as revenge from before, AJ slid out of the way just in time for Mickie to crash into the crate and take the damage instead. With her back turned, AJ saw a nearby fire extinguisher and grabbed it, but before she could do anything with it, she felt a pair of arms wrapped around her, preventing her to go anywhere. She whipped around to find Eve Torres as the mystery woman, and since she had the fire extinguisher in hand, AJ decided to set it off in the Latina's face, the smoke blasting her away and sending her stumbling back. Eve turned around to be met face to face with Trish, who stopped her in her tracks with a wheelbarrow bulldog, temporarily taking her out.

In the meantime, Mickie ran to attack AJ once again, but was stopped in her tracks once AJ sprayed her next with the fire extinguisher. The Country Diva coughed and tried to clear the smoke from her eyes, and then decided to head to the backstage area, with AJ hot on her tail, continuously blasting the extinguisher at her friend. Soon enough, the two arrived backstage and stopped before a flight of stairs. Mickie attacked first by slamming the younger Diva's head into the wall. While she was a little stunned, Mickie grabbed a nearby wooden chair and aimed it for her head, but AJ ducked just in time for the chair to connect to the wall and shatter to pieces.

AJ was shocked that her best friend nearly killed her, so she sped up the stairs just to escape her before any more damage was done. An exhausted Mickie staggered halfway up the stairs, but when she looked up, she had no time to react once AJ slid down the railing and managed to clothesline her back down the stairs in retaliation. AJ rushed to pin her, when Lita only counted for two once Mickie kicked out. AJ rushed to pin her, when Lita only counted for two once Mickie kicked out. After that, AJ climbed back upstairs with Mickie, Trish, and Lita right behind her, and they soon ended up in the concession stand, where a small crowd of people cheered upon seeing the action so close up.

"You girls are so SEXY!" some fan boy called.

The women paid him no mind as the fight continued on. Mickie slammed AJ into another wall and quickly went for the pin, and again, AJ kicked out at two. Mickie grabbed her again by the hair, but the younger Diva elbowed her away and stumbled ahead, with the Country Diva on her tail. Eventually, they headed through the concession stand and walked through a doorway that lead to outside. With Mickie ready to attack the Diva again, AJ retaliated by grabbing her and then throwing her right into another metal crate, sending her down. She then kept up the momentum by throwing her friend into a forklift, causing the Country Diva to hold her left arm in pain. With her on the ground, AJ went for the cover, which was only good for two and a half.

After this, the two exhausted Divas traded punches, trying to keep the other down, when uninvited guest Eve found her way outside and stopped them by pummeling over them both.

"This is supposed to be MY match!" the Latina screamed. "MINE! I deserve to be Women's Champ, ME!"

Trish and Lita decided to shut her up by picking her up and slamming her face first into a nearby production truck, sending her down and out of the way. In the meantime, Mickie and AJ were both on their feet and were running around the parking lot, trying to beat the crap out of one another. Once they reached an open truck, the two took turns trying to slam each other's heads against the truck's door, until Mickie grabbed a nearby hose and wrapped it around her opponent's neck, not wanting to choke her, but wanting to weaken her just enough for her to get the pin. AJ struggled to loosen the hose, when Lita told Mickie to get it off of her. Once she did, Mickie quickly went for another cover, which was only good for two and a half.

With the match winding down, the two exhausted competitors battled it out to finally see who would gain the last pinfall, and once they approached a truck, AJ had a great idea in mind. First, she grabbed a nearby mattress and placed it at the foot of the truck for protection from the solid concrete of the ground. Next, she quickly climbed up the truck's ladder, with Mickie on her tail. When the Country Diva grabbed onto her ankle, AJ managed to shove her off to where she landed on the not-too-soft mattress. Once AJ was on top of the truck, she threw the Guns' sign in the air as back in the arena, the crowd watching the action over the Titantron roared for the Diva. Back outside, she then pointed to Lita and called, "This is for you, Lita!" before leaping off of the truck with a picture perfect moonsault that landed on Mickie perfectly. With them both hurting, AJ slowly went for the cover as Lita counted, "1…2…3!"

From in the arena, the bell rang as the Guns theme played again, and the fans cheered like crazy while Lillian announced, "Here is your winner and the **NEW **WWE Women's Champion, AJ!"

Both Mickie and AJ were still hurting, but once the tiny Diva heard her name and realized that she'd won the title, she slowly sat up and smiled, allowing Lita to raise her arm in victory. Once she handed her the Women's title, AJ looked at her reflection and began to cry, not believing that this was finally happening to her and that her dream had been realized. Lita smiled and gave her a little hug, saying, "You deserve this, AJ, I'm so proud of you."

"Thank you, Lita, thank you." she sniffled, smiling and raising her title in the air. Trish checked on Mickie and helped her up, and at first, she was a little bummed that she'd lost her title, but she was also happy that AJ had won what she had deserved in the first place. The two best friends turned to one another before Mickie wrapped her arms around her in a hug, while AJ hugged her back. "You put up one hell of a fight, girlie, great job." she whispered to her.

"Thanks, Mickie." she agreed, before sharing a hug with Trish next. At the end of it all, the three women held AJ over their shoulders as she raised her title once again, and just like the Guns earlier that evening, she finally had her Wrestlemania moment, too.

* * *

_**AN: Next chapter will be the last one, peeps!  
**_


	152. Chapter 152

_**AN: Ok, after a long, long journey, the story's finally come to an end. *tear tear* So with that, I gotta thank EVERYONE who reviewed, favorited, and followed and made this such a success! Thanks and cookies for everyone, hehe! :D**_

* * *

**Chapter 152 **

So after Wrestlemania, things went great for everyone. Along with the Guns winning the tag titles and promising the Hardys a rematch in the future and AJ winning the Women's title, Britani and Kaitlyn also won the Diva's tag team titles from Beth Phoenix and Natalya, and to top it all off, CM Punk managed to once again regain the WWE title from Chris Jericho. The gang of course, had to head to Raw the next day on Monday, but the Tuesday after, Alex, AJ, Chris, and Mickie were granted some time off to go on their long awaited double honeymoon. After a lot of bickering and arguing, the four finally agreed on heading to Cancun for the next few days. For them, life just couldn't get any better.

Now, the two couples were relaxing outside on the beach, watching the ocean and admiring the scenery…

"Another grape for my wife, the new Women's Champion?" Alex asked, feeding her one.

"Mmm, thank you, Shells!" she smiled, lying down in his lap. "Ah, can you guys believe that we finally made it to paradise?"

"I'm surprised that we even made it on the flight here since I barely got through airport security." Chris said, running a hand through Mickie's hair. "I wasn't carrying that much, just my tag title and a few other odds and ends!"

"Odds and ends? Dude, you tried to smuggle a puppy that you found into your suitcase and onto the plane and tried to pass it off as a pound of ham!" Shelley cried.

"Hey, it almost worked!" he argued, while the girls laughed. "Anyway, Mickie, AJ, you two put on one hell of a match back there on Sunday, man, that was awesome."

"Unreal." agreed Alex. "April, I so didn't expect you to do a moonsault from off of that truck!"

"Hey, my idol Lita was watching me, so I wanted to do it for her. Besides, a little part of me wanted to punish Mickie for nearly killing me back there." she said, smirking towards her.

"Hey, I wasn't trying to kill you!" she cried.

"Uh, you tried to knock my head off with a wooden chair, you tried to knock me unconscious several times, you tried to choke me with a hose…" she began.

"Well—well, ok, I was a little rough, but I was trying to defend my title!...When I still had it." the brunette said meekly.

"Aww, don't worry, Mickie, I promise, if you want a rematch, you got it." she said, fist punching with her.

"Thanks a lot, girlie. So boys, your match against the Hardys was phenomenal as well, I'm just so glad that you both made it out of there on your feet!"

"Yeah, we're glad, too." replied Chris. "Man, I knew we were in for a fight against those guys, but we were just lucky to not have gotten killed out there!"

"Aw, you wuss, it was not that bad! It was pretty fun!" Alex exclaimed.

"Oh, was it fun when you were flattened between two ladders and crushed through a table?" Sabin demanded.

He shot him a look. "You were lying right beside me on that table, so shut up."

"YOU shut up!" Chris snapped, throwing a handful of sand at his best friend.

Alex leapt up and tossed a clump of sand right back at him in retaliation. "Screw YOU, bunghole, now get back here so that I can yell at ya!"

While the boys chased one another across the beach, Mickie and AJ laughed.

"How could we ever live without those two?" AJ asked, smiling towards Alex.

"I don't think we ever could or else life would be so dull without them." Mickie replied, gazing towards Chris. "We've sure come a long way since we met those two."

"Yeah, when I first met Alex in that record store, I fell in love with him right then and there, and I was just afraid that I'd never see him again, or he wouldn't like me back. But now look at us. He's my husband now." AJ replied, blushing. "And you and Chris have come a LONG way."

"Tell me about it." Mickie chuckled. "We've had…I can't even describe the type of relationship we have, but the one thing I can say is that being with him is SO much fun, and I couldn't ever picture my life without Chris. At least the two of us have finally found our perfect matches."

She toasted her drink with her friend's. "Here here! So now, I just wonder what the future holds in store for us."

"Hmm. I have no idea." Mickie replied, watching Chris and Alex play fighting in the ocean. "But I have a feeling that I know what the future holds in store for our old pal Laurinitis."

...

Back in Shawshank Correctional Facility, a traumatized Laurinitis was sitting alone in his cell, rocking back and forth in the fetal position. "S-Shower…n-no, do-don't pull down my pants again..." he uttered, having some horrible flashbacks. "…I—I wanna go hooommmeee…"

Then, an officer approached his cell and unlocked it. "Dinner time, get out."

"No. I—I can't go back out there, the Sisters will violate me again! I don't want to be violated in places that I don't want violated!" he whined.

Both the officer and another guard were forced to drag him out kicking and screaming.

"Oh, NO! NO, let me go, I'm not even hungry! They're going to hurt me, you gotta let me go!" he cried.

"_Hey, there's the sissy! HEY, SISSY!" _one of the inmates called from down the hall.

"This is all those Guns' faults, I swear! It's not fair, I tell ya, it's not FAIR!" he screamed.

A few of the inmates who were also released from their cells immediately jumped the former GM and began beating him up, before one of the taller inmates lifted him over his shoulder and began taking him away, with the others following him.

"Wait, wait, put me down! I thought we were headed to dinner!" Johnny cried. "HELP, HELP!"

"Let's take him to the showers!" one of them cried, eliciting cheers from the other inmates.

"I hate my life." the former GM concluded.

...

Meanwhile…

"Yeah, I'd hate to be him right about now." AJ concluded, laughing. "Hey, boys, you'll have plenty of time to play in the water! Come back to your beautiful wives!"

Both Alex and Chris approached the two and smirked before shaking themselves off in front of them, getting the girls wet.

"Aww, come on, ladies, join the party! No harm in getting a little wet!" Alex exclaimed as the two squealed.

"Why'd you have to do that, I was getting my tan on and now it's ruined!" Mickie exclaimed.

"Ooh, you mean I'm going to have a bronzed goddess? Be still, my beating heart!" Sabin exclaimed, giving her a kiss. "So, what do you two want to do now?"

AJ and Mickie smirked at one another before grabbing their respective husbands by their necklaces and leading them towards their cabanas.

"Oh, Sab, I think we're about to get lucky again." Alex said, glancing towards his friend.

"I believe you're right, dude." Chris smiled back.

"Well, since it IS our honeymoon, we are obligated to be in the bedroom at least 6-8 times a day." Mickie replied, running a finger down Chris's chest.

"Yay." he said in a small voice, grinning.

"And once I'm finished with you," AJ began, running her fingers through Alex's hair. "We're gonna play a few rounds of Final Fantasy, and I promise you that I am going to win."

"You know, I don't even care anymore that you'll probably beat me for the millionth time. What matters is that it's just you, me, and nobody else." Shelley replied, giving her a kiss.

"Same for us, Sweet Mickie." Chris agreed, kissing her.

"Well, then, let's get busy, shall we?" AJ smirked devilishly, pulling her husband into the cabana and locking the door.

"I'm so there, wife." Alex smirked back. "SCORE!"

"So, shall we, babe?" Chris asked.

"We shall…Pookie." she said, laughing once she ran inside the cabana next to theirs. Chris looked stunned for a moment and chased her inside, crying, "POOKIE?! Wait, did Alex tell you about that time back in Japan where I was cursed with that horrible nickname while I was drunk? MICKIE!"

And with that, the two couples went on to enjoy quite a wonderful honeymoon. After everything the Guns have been through since day one, one thing was for sure – as long as the four of them stuck together, they'd make it through just about anything.


End file.
